OJ Mayo Thinks DeMarcus Cousins Has ‘Mental Issues’


After absorbing a shot below the belt from DeMarcus Cousins in the second quarter last night, OJ Mayo vented to the media about the Kings center’s maturity (or lack thereof.) Per the Dallas Morning News and Sac Bee: “The incident occured while the two were fighting for position. During the next deadball, with 3:25 left, Cousins and Mayo were whistled for a double-technical foul for jawing at one another following the blow. ‘I told him, ‘Man, play basketball,’ Mayo said. ’You’ve got a chance to be a good player, but when you do stuff like that, you’re like a garbage player. It’s not a sign of being great.’ […] ‘Man, that guy has mental issues,’ Mayo said. ‘He’s a talented player. He has an opportunity to be the face of the organization, but I don’t think he wants it.’ Mayo said he asked the referees to review the incident on videotape during halftime. Mayo said he has little doubt it’s a fine-able or suspendable offense. ‘Big maturity problem,’ Mayo said of Cousins. ‘Hopefully he’ll grow out of it and become great. He definitely has the talent.’ […] After a timeout was called in the third quarter, Carlisle yelled at Cousins as the center walked away. What was Carlisle saying? ‘Not really sure,’ Cousins said. Carlisle told reporters, ‘I really like him as a player, and I was expressing that to him.’ Cousins also drew a double technical with Mavericks guard O.J. Mayo in the second quarter, when Cousins caught Mayo with a blow below the belt. ‘It wasn’t intentional,’ Cousins said. ‘There was a lot of trash talk.’ Cousins didn’t seem bothered by Mayo. ‘Just trash talk,’ Cousins said. ‘Nothing too big. It’s a part of the game.'”