Sacramento Kings coach George Karl: I apologized to DeMarcus Cousins

Sacramento Kings coach Goerge Karl says he apologized to center DeMarcus Cousins. 
Sacramento Kings coach George Karl: I apologized to DeMarcus Cousins
Sacramento Kings coach George Karl: I apologized to DeMarcus Cousins /

Sacramento Kings coach George Karl told CSN Bay Area’s Kayte Christensen he apologized to center DeMarcus Cousins for a comment he made last season.

Cousins has been the subject of trade rumors in Sacramento during multiple overhauls of the team’s front office. Karl was hired as the Kings coach in February of last season and made comments suggesting Cousins was a tradeable player.

“I’ve had some great players and I’ve never had one player that I have said is untradeable,” Karl said earlier this year. “You always got to be ready for the possibility of a great trade that could come your way.”

• Off-season grades: Kings’ chaotic summer | GOLLIVER: West storylines

Karl backtracked those comments when speaking with Christensen.

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“That was wrong for me to say, because you all took it and blew it up into crazy. But it’s my responsibility to be smart enough to not say things like that,” Karl said. “So I did apologize because I thought that was the only thing, maybe some other things, but really the only thing that got us separated was that comment that then everybody wrote the we’re going to trade [Cousins].”

Cousins averaged 24.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game for the Kings last season. Sacramento finished 29–53, a one win improvement from the previous year.

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Photos: Cousins ranked 14th in SI’s Top 100 Players of 2016

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Knicks | Forward | Last year: 11

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Wizards | Guard | Last year: 31

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Clippers | Guard | Last year: 3

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Rockets | Guard | Last year: 13

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Warriors | Guard | Last year: 8

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Pelicans | Forward | Last year: 4

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#1 — LeBron James

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– Rohan Nadkarni


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