SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento rookie DeMarcus Cousins was fined by the team Monday for fighting with teammate Donte Greene after Saturday’s 99-97 loss to the Thunder and will rejoin the Kings after missing one game.
Cousins reportedly was upset Greene had not passed him the ball for the final shot in the game. Greene passed the ball to Tyreke Evans, who missed a 3-point attempt.
President of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said there is no place for violence on or off the court in the NBA and that’s why Cousins needed to be punished. Cousins did not join the Kings for Sunday’s win in Phoenix while the team investigated.
“We will now move forward together,” Petrie said. “We do not intend to give up on DeMarcus’ talent or potential.”
Cousins apologized to his teammates, the organization and fans.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions and know that I must keep raising my standard of professionalism to be my best and a great player in the NBA,” he said.
Footnotes.
Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko has been ruled out for tonight’s game at Phoenix because of a sprained right ankle. He also will be listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s game against Golden State.
• The Hornets released swingman Sasha Pavlovic.
The Associated Press
