NEW YORK – Rehabbing Golden State Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins apologized to head coach Steve Kerr on Saturday, one day after getting ejected from the bench during the Warriors win over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
“We talked about it [Saturday] and he was great,” Kerr said prior to Sunday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. “He apologized and I think he understands this is a different role, different team, different situation. Just got to move forward in his career and he knows that. That kind of stuff is not going to help us win a championship, it’s not going to help his reputation and I think he understands that. And I think he immediately regretted what happened so I really appreciated him coming to me and making that pretty clear and I don’t expect it to happen again.”
Cousins, who was sitting on the bench in street clothes on Friday night, received a technical foul and was ejected by referee Scott Foster — after the veteran official warned both Cousins and Knicks big man Enes Kanter about their verbal commentary.
A source told ESPN’s Marc Spears that Cousins and Kanter were talking trash to each other on the court during workouts hours before the game. The source said the NBA got wind of this and let the referees know to keep an eye on the situation.
“Kanter and Cousins were both warned prior to the ejection about talking to the bench,” Foster told a pool reporter after the game. “Cousins took exception to the ruling and during the timeout he was ejected for one technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Cousins, who tore his left Achilles last season as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, signed a one year deal with the Warriors this summer. Kerr and the rest of Cousins’ new teammates have repeatedly praised the work Cousins is putting in behind the scenes as he continues to make his way back to the floor.
When asked before Sunday’s game if Cousins could learn anything from the incident, Kerr had a matter-of-fact reply ready.
“Yeah, Kerr said. “Don’t do that again.”