Geoff Petrie: Cousins is "not going anywhere"

The hot topic around Sacramento and the NBA right now is the status of DeMarcus Cousins. Almost everyone who can has chimed in, but today we have a separate report by NBA.com's David Aldridge which brings to light some interesting things. Unlike a lot of national guys, Aldridge has had a decent pulse on the situation in Sactown for the past few years.

The entire article (which can be found in the last section) is worth the read, but here are some of the highlights.

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• We know that Dan Fegan was definitely involved in expediting Cousins reinstatement from suspension.
• Team was not pleased by Cousins return so early, or by his apology. At least two teammates stood up and told Cousins to back up his words with actions, because they had heard it all before.

"When he apologized to the team, two players stood up and said 'we've heard this bull(bleep) before,'" the source said. "'You're either going to be with us, or you're not. We don't want to hear any more excuses.'"

• Aldridge got some choice quotes from Geoff Petrie, but in particular Petrie says that Cousins is most definitely NOT on the trading block.

"You can put that one to rest," Petrie said. "He's not going anywhere. You can lay that to rest. Some of that stuff lives in its own reality."

• Petrie would not comment on the rumors that the Kings are asking Cousins to seek counseling for his anger issues because you simply don't comment on that type of thing.

"Those types of issues are private and should remain with the player, his representatives and obviously the people on the team," Petrie said. "That's really getting into personal information that I don't think anybody really has a right to know. I don't know that you'd want your medical records out there."

• Boston is definitely interested in trying to get Cousins, but they don't really have the pieces to do so.
• Aldridge writes that while Petrie preferred Greg Monroe in 2010, he chose DeMarcus Cousins at the behest of ... Paul Westphal. This is probably the part of the article I'm least sure about. Petrie seemed genuinely thrilled to land Cousins at 5, and it wasn't a certainty he was even going to be there at 5.
• Detroit is rumored to be a potential destination for Cousins if the Kings do trade him, but Detroit is apparently not interested, contrary to other reports. The Pistons are just fine developing Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond as their frontcourt of the future. I don't blame them.

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I'm sure this isn't the last we've heard about DeMarcus Cousins or his future. He's a very talented, very volatile player who could be so good if he focuses on playing basketball and being a good teammate. The past two games since he's come back from suspension seem to be an indicator that Cousins might have learned a lesson, but it's still a very small sample size.

As for the fact that the Kings have now publicly come out to say he's not getting traded, that's not surprising. Have you seen some of the offers people are throwing out there? I'm not sure I'd trade Travis Outlaw for some of them. Cousins is simply too talented to give away for free. Plus, Petrie may not have a say in the matter anyway. The Maloofs don't want to trade Cousins (a point made again by Aldridge) and Petrie's contract is likely not getting renewed after the end of the year.