Cousins says suspension came from coach, not Kings

There may be no salvaging the relationship between Sacramento Kings All-Star DeMarcus Cousins and head coach George Karl.

"Boogie" was asked about his one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, which he served Friday when the Kings battled the Orlando Magic, following the team's 108-99 loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday night at Sleep Train Arena.

"That wasn't a suspension from the organization. That was a suspension from the head coach," Cousins said, according to Yahoo Sports' Marc Spears.

Asked whether he's had a conversation with Karl since the suspension, Cousins replied: "He hasn't said a word to me."

While the team hasn't specified what their leading scorer was punished for, Cousins was seen on the sidelines during Wednesday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers having a heated exchange with Karl, and teammate Rajon Rondo intervened.

The incident resulted from Cousins' belief that Karl doesn't stand up for his players, reported ABC10's Sean Cunningham. The Vertical's Chris Mannix also reported that Cousins argued with general manager Vlade Divac following Wednesday's game.

"We tried to do our best to send a message that we cannot tolerate some stuff," Divac said Thursday. "He went a little far, and we had to do things to be on the same page."

Cousins unleashed a profanity-laced tirade at Karl in November after the team lost its sixth game in a row and seventh in eight games to begin the season.

Karl reportedly wanted to suspend him for that incident, but that ultimately didn't happen - and Divac apparently said Karl didn't have the authority to hand down suspensions.

Sacramento currently owns a 25-40 record, and is 7 1/2 games back of the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference. The Kings have never won 30 or more games in a season since drafting Cousins fifth overall in the 2010 draft.