DeMarcus Cousins was whistled for his 16th technical foul of the season on Sunday in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cousins chose not to discuss what happened in the post game. Instead, he fielded questions about his season and the team's future under head coach Michael Malone.
DeMarcus Cousins was called for his 16th technical foul Sunday night in the Kings' 106-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
According to Sean Cunningham of News 10, Cousins received the technical in the fourth quarter because he threw his hand in the air and yelled "bull****" after a foul was called. It's debatable whether it was directed at a specific referee, but it was enough in the ref's eye's to slap Cousins with that 16th technical.
You can watch the sequence at the 1:23 mark of this video.
If the technical isn't rescinded, Cousins will be suspended for one game due to league rules and he won't be suiting up for the Kings' final game of the season against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. He hadn't picked up a technical foul since Feb. 25 against the Houston Rockets.
Cousins, who had 35 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal Sunday night, wasn't interested in discussing what happened with the media after the game, quickly saying, "I'm not talking about it." Instead, he answered questions about his season and the team's future.
Here are a few of his comments.
On the Kings' comeback win over the Timberwolves: "We're still a team trying to grow, find ourselves and I think we took steps forward today."
On if he has grown this season: "I think I've grown a lot, but I mean, there's some disappointments this season. There's some things I wish could have happened differently, but I mean, of course I'll learn from it and I'll be a better man at the end of the day."
On Kings head coach Michael Malone: "Coach Malone has done an incredible job, I don't think he gets enough credit. I mean so many changes with this team just throughout the season ... and I think he's done an incredible job of keeping us together, keeping us motivated. I mean, I've been in this situation before with other coaches and this is the most positive the locker room has been this late in the year with basically no reason to play."
On the if the future looks brighter: "I think the future is brighter, I'm with [Michael] Malone till the wheels fall off, he knows that. He has my back, I've got his. So you'll be seeing me for a while until they get rid of me, it won't be my choice."
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Coach Malone said after the game that "we'll try to do whatever we can to get that rescinded." Malone also commented on how his center has made strides in handling his emotions since his last technical in February.
Coming to Cousins' defense, many Kings fans took to Twitter Sunday night using the hashtag #rescindtheT in an effort to get the NBA to call off the technical foul.