Divac aiming to 'send a message' with Cousins suspension

The Sacramento Kings have put up with plenty of ornery behavior from DeMarcus Cousins over the years, in the interest of keeping their franchise cornerstone happy. But the team apparently decided Cousins' latest outburst - which was reportedly aimed at both head coach George Karl and vice president/general manager Vlade Divac - was a bridge too far.

"We tried to do our best to send a message that we cannot tolerate some stuff," Divac said in a brief media session with reporters Thursday, after the Kings suspended Cousins one game for conduct detrimental to the team. "He went a little far, and we had to do things to be on the same page."

Divac has long defended and championed Cousins, repeatedly calling the All-NBA center untradeable, refusing to be cowed by Karl into dealing him, and trying to play peacemaker between the two during their summer-long feud.

In November, after a loss dropped the Kings to 1-7, Cousins launched a profanity-laced tirade against Karl in the locker room. Karl reportedly wanted to suspend Cousins two games for the incident, but Divac apparently wouldn't grant him permission to do so.

This time, with Cousins having allegedly sucked Divac into his tornado of indignation, the 25-year-old superstar received no quarter from his biggest front-office ally.

"I think he was kind of emotionally overwhelmed, and he did something that he shouldn't do," Divac said. "He's a good kid, you know I hate doing this, but I'm the general manager and I have to do, sometimes, hard stuff."

Divac also said he didn't let Cousins practice with the team Thursday, giving him some time and space to cool off and reflect on his behavior.

"I sent him home. I think he should just think about what happened last night," Divac said.

The GM also refused to engage in any speculation about whether this latest flare-up might finally lead the Kings to move on from Cousins - though he didn't exactly close any doors.

Asked if he'd think about trading the big man after the season, Divac said: "The season is not over."