Kings Center DeMarcus Cousins Is No Head Case

Article first published as Kings Center DeMarcus Cousins Is No Head Case on Blogcritics.

Over the summer, DeMarcus Cousins’ maturity and work ethic were constantly under fire by the media, being labeled a head case even before he was drafted.

Yes, it’s true that the 6'11'' 270-pound center did have some problems while attending high school in Alabama and showed some immaturity while at Kentucky, but he can‘t be held responsible in the NBA for something that‘s happened in the past.

It’s funny that a 20-year-old rookie who hasn’t played one game gets treated like he's the next Ron Artest or Derrick Coleman. He hasn’t played a preseason game, was stellar in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 14.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, and earned Rookie of the Month honors.

Five NBA Players to Watch: Pacific Division Edition

This is the first of a six-part series that I'm working on finding five players from five different teams to watch in each division.

Rather than start with the Eastern Conference I'm working backwards, starting from the Pacific Division, home of the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings.

Crowned Hoops: My new Sacramento Kings blog

I just started a new Sacramento Kings blog called Crowned Hoops. Not only will it be hosted on Blogger but it will also be a feature on Blogcritics.

You can check out the the introductory post and the training camp story that are live on the site. I'll still be writing here. It's a way to cover the NBA and the Kings separately, though it doesn't mean a Kings story won't show up on this site.

So be sure to watch Crowned Hoops as well as this blog. Thanks.

Can the Bobcats go back to the Playoffs?

For the first time since the team was created in 2004, the Charlotte Bobcats made the playoffs for the first time last season, finishing with a franchise-best 44-38 record and clinching the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They were swept by the Orlando Magic, however, in the first round, 4-0.

The Bobcats' core consisted of Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson, Raymond Felton, Tyrus Thomas, Boris Diaw, D.J. Augustin, Larry Hughes, Nazr Mohammed, Tyson Chandler and Theo Ratliff.

Felton, Chandler, Hughes and Ratliff are gone but the team has brought in seven new players to their roster. Erick Dampier, who is one of those new players, could be on the trading block with his completely non-guaranteed contract worth $13 million.

Along with Dampier, the Bobcats also brought back guard Matt Carroll in a trade, signed Kwame Brown, Dominic McGuire, Eduardo Najera and Shaun Livingston, and drafted Sherron Collins. The Eastern Conference won't be as easy as last season.

Why Jamal Crawford for Ben Gordon Works

Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford will request a trade from the Hawks if he’s not signed to an extension, according to an ESPN report by Chris Broussard.

Crawford, who won last year's Sixth Man of the Year award, was traded to the Hawks by the Golden State Warriors and has also played with the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.

Even though they added him last summer the Hawks were swept in the second round for a second time in a row.

If the Hawks aren’t willing to sign the 30-year-old scorer to an extension, maybe they’ll be interested in trading for Detroit Pistons guard Ben Gordon, who has three years left on his contract.

I'm Back! New Name, Better Game

It's been a long time since I used this blog for Yardbarker, and a lot of things have changed since then, including Yardbarker and my writing skills.

In the past 15 months I joined Sacramento Press to write for the Sacramento Kings' Tyreke Evans Rookie of the Year (RekeROY) campaign, where I met and got to know some of the best basketball writers in Sacramento and from around the country.

Evans won the ROY Award.

After the campaign ended I continued to write for Sacramento Press, mainly about the Kings while earning my Associate's Degree in Journalism at Sacramento City College.

Now I'm rebooting my basketball blog as I prepare to leave for Azusa Pacific University in January. Pre-season doesn't start for over a month but there's always a story in the NBA, no matter how quiet and boring it may seem.

Carmelo Anthony reportedly heading out of Denver, Team USA and the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey, Jamal Crawford wanting to be traded if he doesn't get an extension (more on him later), there's always something, which is why you should check back here often.

There's plenty of ways to follow me and my work in basketball and other sports as well. You can follow me on Twitter and like my fan page on Facebook to keep up with all of the latest updates of when and where I post my stories.

You can also subscribe to this site where it says "Subscribe to Rob on Hoops" in the top-right corner of the page to get my stories via e-mail or use Google Friend Connect on the lower-right side of the page.

My resume blog on Wordpress, The Archives, holds all of my journalistic work from high school up until now. You can find my writing on Sacramento Press, Sactown Royalty and Sac Midtown.

I also post videos on YouTube and pictures on Flickr. Many of the pictures you see on The Archives are on my Flickr account.

Feel free to comment and share my stories if you like it. All I hope is that you'll enjoy your time here, starting on my next post explaining why a Jamal Crawford-Ben Gordon swap would benefit both the Atlanta Hawks and the Detroit Pistons.