Rewarding bad behaviour

The marriage of Paul Westphal and the Sacramento Kings was doomed from the beginning.

Westphal, a well-traveled coach who was never known for his ability to work with young players, was paired with the youngest roster in the NBA.

That being said, who knew it would blow up so spectacularly?

Four players were selected in the 2010 NBA Draft before the Kings decided to pull the trigger on DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins didn't drop down to the No. 5 pick because he was lacking the talent of the four players chosen in front of him; the Kings were able to select the talented 6-11 centre because teams were afraid of Cousins’ attitude (He had a history of blow-ups in high school and college). Well, the Kings were warned and decided to roll the dice anyways.

Cousins was sent home by Westphal on New Year's Day and a release was issued saying the young player had asked to be traded and that the team would accommodate his wishes. Cousins has since denied making the demand.

It didn't take long before the team's owners announced that they would not deal Cousins. Last Thursday, the Kings fired Westphal and assistant coach Keith Smart was promoted in his place.

Cousins rightfully pointed out that it was not his call to fire Westphal but it seems a little bit of a stretch to say that his feud with the coach played no part.

"Of course people are going to tie (Westphal's firing) to me," Cousins told the Associated Press. "It will just show their ignorance. But like I said, it's not my decision."

On first glance it is easy to blame Cousins for Westphal's firing but at this point, what's done is done and there are much more complex issues in play for the team now as they have been left to try and deal with the aftermath.

In Smart's first game as head coach, the Kings were able to beat the Milwaukee Bucks (who were playing without star centre Andrew Bogut) but have since fallen to the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic.

Smart has an even tougher road ahead as the Kings are in the midst of a stretch where they play eight of nine away from home (The run of games began with a blowout loss in Philadelphia on Tuesday night and continues on Wednesday night in Toronto). Despite the coaching change, one of the problems will continue to haunt this team in the near future: the lack of a true point guard.

Most observers agree that Tyreke Evans has proven to be more of a shooting guard than a point guard and this season's star rookie, Jimmer Fredette, also appeared to be cut from the same mold in college.

The fact that the franchise does not know where it will be located next season also has to serve as a major distraction for the young team as well.

But the biggest problem is the message that the Westphal firing sent to the players. Westphal placed the Kings in an unenviable position as they had to choose between a coach in the final year of his contract and an immensely-talented player that they had spent a high draft pick on and would never get true value for in return if they tried to make a deal (Teams were salivating over the prospect of getting the second-year player for a bag of balls).

Yes, it was Cousins’ second suspension since joining the team but they paid a high price to get him. In the end, they basically rewarded Cousins for bad behaviour and not listening to his coach. How is Smart going to get the youngest team in the NBA to listen to him now when they know that his authority can be questioned?

Raptors injury update

Raptors forward Linas Kleiza, who has been out since having knee surgery in February, may return in time to face the Kings on Wednesday night.

Kleiza met with the physician who performed the surgery in Denver on Tuesday and, provided he gets the all-clear from the doctor, he would be good to go.

He has been practising with the team for a couple of weeks now but has not participated in full contract drills.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey said last week that when Kleiza does return that it will "be a slow process."

"I don't want expectations to be too high," Casey explained. "He'll have to kind of ease his way back in and earn his minutes."

That being said, with Rasual Butler and James Johnson struggling from the field, Kleiza may be able to earn minutes quickly.

"Offensively, he'll give us a punch. He can score," Casey said.

Backup point guard Jerryd Bayless is also on the mend for the Raptors. Upon last update, it appeared as if this Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers might be the earliest we see him in action.

Kings injury update

Power forward Chuck Hayes has been sidelined by a shoulder separation and will not return to action for at least another couple of weeks.