Disgruntled center DeMarcus Cousins is back with the Kings and traveling to Memphis on the team plane in advance of Sacramento's Tuesday game with the Grizzlies, according to reports from the Sacramento Bee and Yahoo! Sports.
The Kings sent Cousins home from their Sunday game in New Orleans against the Hornets. The team released a statement from head coach Paul Westphal indicating that Cousins had demanded a trade.
Cousins' agent responded by saying his client did not demand a trade.
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SIGN UP HERE The following is Westphal's statement:
Whenever a new season begins, in any sport, there is great hope that everything will progress in only a steady, upward direction," Westphal said. "As we all know, it seldom happens like that in this life! As coaches, we can only ask that our players do everything they can to improve themselves as individuals and teammates. If they do this with all their hearts, we live with the results.
"Everything that happens on a team does not become known to the public," Westphal continued. "This is how it should be. However, when a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwillingunable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.
"DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded. In the best interest of our team as we go forward, he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to stay home from the New Orleans game tonight."
Sacramento selected Cousins, 21, with the fifth overall pick in 2010 after he spent one season at Kentucky. The 6-foot-1, 240-pounder was averaging 13 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes per game this season.