DeMarcus Cousins called Mike Dunleavy a clown after the Kings beat the Bulls on Monday, the latest – but not first – run-in between the two.
Dunleavy isn’t letting the feud end there, taking a couple retaliatory shots at Cousins.
Dunleavy, via Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com“He called me a clown?” Dunleavy said after Tuesday night’s win over the Phoenix Suns. “I mean, I’d like to respond but clowns can’t talk. So (I can) mime or (give him) some animal balloons or something. Oh man.
“That’s the epitome of the pot calling the kettle black,” Dunleavy added. “But honestly I’ve never been called that before. I guess there’s a first time for everything. I don’t have much to say about him or that.”
I suppose most clowns don’t talk, but I don’t think that’s a rule, as Dunleavy suggests. The foremost authority on the subject I could find says clowns can talk:
Even disregarding Dunleavy’s mischaracterization of clowning, I’m still inclined to take Cousins’ side. He just brings way more fun for to the NBA.
For years, people have been telling Cousins to show more leadership. Now, he’s leading – exactly how he wants. Cousins is the Kings’ biggest star, and – for better or worse – he’s trying to inject his personality into the team. That’s what leading is.
Will this brash style of leadership be effective? Who knows. The Kings are lousy, but they don’t have the caliber of players to be much better.
By the time they do, maybe Cousins will have changed. He’s just 23. I don’t believe, as Dunleavy says, Cousins is destined to remain the same person forever.
But for now, I’m honestly enjoying Cousins’ take-no-prisoners style. He’s not always right – for the record, I don’t believe Dunleavy to be a clown – but the Kings center is playing by his own rules. I can appreciate that.
