DeMarcus Cousins made a jumper as time expired and a bizarre rant about divinity when the mics came out.
The combustible Sacramento Kings star, upset at reports he may be against the rumored hiring of George Karl as coach at the All-Star break, wouldn’t talk Sunday night about the game-winner, storming away after a distressed diatribe in which he twice asked: “How you gonna stop God’s plan?”
USA Today reported this weekend Cousins’ two agents are opposed to bringing in Karl, the former Nuggets coach who ranks sixth all-time in wins with 1,131. The axes to grind, according to the report: Cousins’ day-to-day agent, Jarrin Akana, once was re-assigned from assistant coach to scout by Karl in Denver, and Dan Fegan, Cousins’ lead agent, was once replaced as the rep for Karl’s son, Coby.
Cousins was asked back in the locker room whether he was pumped up about his end-game heroics.
“Nah, I ain’t pumped up,” Cousins said. “I just got a lot on my mind. And the crazy thing about it … I just got a question for y’all: How you gonna stop God’s plan? How you gonna do that? How you gonna do that, that’s what I want to know, how are you gonna stop God’s plan? Man this city done put me through so much, and I stayed loyal to it the whole time. Hey, I just wanna know how you gonna stop God’s plan? God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. The marathon continues. I’m out.”
The Kings are 7-19 under coach Tyrone Corbin, whose began the season as an assistant and replaced the fired Michael Malone after 24 games.
“It’s been a combination of different things that have been going on over the last few weeks,” Corbin said. “Our guys have been on edge.
“I told these guys that the only thing you can control is your play on the floor. Speculation will be around as long as you’re in this league.”
Cousins finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in the 85-83 victory over the Suns. On the game-winner, Cousins pump-faked once, then launched a 19-footer from the key over Markieff Morris that hit the rim four times before settling into the basket, setting off a huge celebration at midcourt by the struggling Kings.
With AP