George Karl: I'm on board with Cousins as long as 'he comes committed'

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The never-ending circus surrounding the Sacramento Kings and star center DeMarcus Cousins rages on.

The latest episode in their tumultuous relationship saw George Karl's devious plot to push Cousins out of Sacramento, as detailed by Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

Shortly after, Cousins responded with a not-so-subtle jab at Karl on Twitter.

Karl then set the record straight on his relationship with Cousins to the Sacramento Bee where he brushed off the report.

"I think it's just a lot of crazy, crazy fibs and lies," Karl said. "It's a situation where we won 29 games last year and for us as a basketball organization. We want to get better. Cousins is our best player, we know that. We want him committed and dedicated to being in Sacramento, playing and leading us to the first playoffs in Sacramento in six, seven, eight or nine years."

Then, when asked specifically about his desire to see Cousins traded, Karl deftly sidestepped the question.

"My interest right now is commitment, trust and building a team that's excited about being in Sacramento and that's excited and committed to being a good basketball team and representing the city of Sacramento."

Pressed further about his thoughts on building around Cousins, Karl repeated his trope about commitment.

"If (Cousins) comes committed, I'm 120 percent into making him the best basketball he could ever be."

When asked specifically about his impression of Cousins's commitment, Karl was ironically non-committal in his response.

"Not now ... I mean we're all frustrated with losing. I was only here for 30 games and so the frustration for him is double that, for all the players and Cousins, who were here for the whole season."

Karl's denial is tepid, but it's in line with comments made by Kings Vice President Vlade Divac and owner Vivek Ranadive, who both stressed their plans to keep Cousins in Sacramento for years to come.

Still, that didn't stop reports Karl wants Cousins shipped out. The Los Angeles Lakers are said to be actively pursuing Cousins, while separate reports have linked Cousins to the Denver Nuggets.

The 24-year-old Cousins is one of the NBA's brightest up-and-coming superstars. He made his first All-Star team last season after posting averages of 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on a PER of 25.2.