Sacramento Kings suspend DeMarcus Cousins

Sacramento - The Sacramento Kings announced Saturday that third-year center DeMarcus Cousins has been suspended indefinitely for "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team."

After an altercation with Kings' coach Keith Smart, Cousins was benched for the second half of the Kings/Clippers game. According to ESPN, Cousins admitted "he was in the wrong" during halftime. "What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room, but I was wrong. I was wrong," Cousins said, admitting that he's an emotional player, and sometimes his emotions get the best of him. Cousins told the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones that he had to learn to get a better handle on "tense" situations. Coach Keith Smart chose not to say much about Friday's altercation. "I don't want to get want to caught up too much on what takes place on the court," he said. "Because players get hot on the court and say things; I say things on the court as well," he told ESPN. The altercation left Cousins off the bench and in the locker room for the entire second half of the game. The Kings lost the Clippers 85-97, their sixth loss in seventh games. The Sacramento KIngs' President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced Saturday that the team has suspended the center DeMarcus Cousins "indefinitely for unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team." Cousins is no stranger to trouble on and off the court. His battles with coach Paul Westphal would lead to Wesphal's firing in early 2012. According to USA Today, this is already the third time Cousins has been in trouble this season. First a November 9 confrontation with former Pistons and Spurs player, and current Spurs broadcaster Sean Elliott led to a two-game suspension for DeMarcus Cousins. Next, the 22-year-old player was suspended one game on December 11 for hitting OJ Mayo in the groin during a Kings/Mavs game on December 10.