Sports

DeMarcus Cousins Responds to Trade Talk Surrounding Him by Taking a Shot at Kings Coach George Karl on Twitter

Will this push the Kings to trade DeMarcus Cousins?

Image via USA TODAY Sports/Steve Mitchell

In recent days, Kings vice president Vlade Divac has come out and publicly stated that Sacramento is not interested in trading DeMarcus Cousins this summer. He said he wants Cousins to stay with the Kings. But according to a Yahoo! Sports report that was published very early this morning, that's not what Kings head coach George Karl wants. Karl—who was hired by the Kings back in February—is reportedly trying to convince Divac and Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé that trading Cousins now would be the best thing for the team.

It doesn't seem Cousins himself is on board with that decision, though. While it'd probably be great for his career if he ended up landing in, say, Los Angeles with the Lakers as some reports have suggested, Cousins has remained loyal to the Kings in recent years, despite all of the criticism that he has received from the local media. So after the Yahoo! Sports report emerged this morning, Cousins took to Twitter and posted what appeared to be a shot at Karl in the form of three emojis:

If this is a shot at Karl—and c'mon, it definitely is, right?—Cousins wouldn't be the first NBA player to refer to Karl as a "snake" (though, to his credit, he would be the first to do it by using emojis!). Back in February 2011, Karl, then with the Nuggets, said, "Defensive focus, his demand of himself, is what frustrated us more than anything," when he was asked a question about Carmelo Anthony, who had just been traded to the Knicks. And Anthony seemingly responded to that statement by posting this on Twitter:

But unlike Anthony and Karl, Cousins and Karl are still currently employed by the same team. So if the Kings aren't willing to trade Cousins this summer, things could get very, very interesting in Sacramento next season. Stay tuned.

Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.

[via Pro Basketball Talk]

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