To say the relationship between George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins has gotten off to a rough start would be a massive understatement. The head coach and star player for the Sacramento Kings have yet to fully clear the air after the whole debacle that happened earlier this offseason, but there is someone who believes it will be worked out, and that is Carmelo Anthony, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports.
Karl coached the Kings for 30 games last season and had an 11-19 record. This offseason, Karl was trying to improve the Kings roster and in doing so reportedly put Cousins, his star player, on the trading block. Cousins was understandably not very happy about hearing his name in trade rumors and sent out a tweet with three snake emojis. Cousins and Karl were in such a feud that there was talk of them not being able to co-exist for next season.
After the trade rumors calmed down, Cousins and Karl posed for a photo when they were together in Las Vegas during the summer league, and that fueled speculation that maybe they have mended the relationship. Cousins reportedly said earlier this week that although he and Karl had a good talk, there are still things that need to be worked out between them two.
Carmelo Anthony played for Karl when he was with the Denver Nuggets and has been somewhat of a mentor for Cousins during his career, so he knows both parties very well. When Anthony was asked if the situation will be worked out, he said Cousins will figure it out.
"He will, at a certain point, you have to accept what's in front of you. You have to man up, go to work and do your job," said Anthony.
It would behoove Karl to figure out a way to fix his relationship with Cousins, as he is the Kings star player and one of the best players in the league. Cousins signed a four year extension prior to last season worth more than $65 million, so he clearly isn't going anywhere. If Karl wants to keep his job he's going to need Cousins to be all in with the Kings and fully engaged at all times. Cousins is coming off an excellent 2014-15 campaign when he averaged 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while making 47 percent of his field goals and being named to his first All-Star team.
