Western Notes: Cousins, Griffin, Gordon

DeMarcus Cousins was fined $50K by the Kings for his part of an incident with a local columnist and the 26-year-old said that he picked the wrong time to confront the reporter, adding that he let his emotions get the best of him, Sean Cunningham of ABC10 passes along (Twitter link). However, in his prepared statement, Cousins did not apologize to the reporter whom he intimidated..

“I understand my actions were inexcusable and I commit to upholding the professional standards of the Kings and the NBA. I apologize to my teammates, fans and the Kings organization for my behavior and the ensuing distraction and look forward to moving on and focusing on basketball,” Cousins said.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

• Blake Griffin underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee today, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter links). Griffin is expected to miss four-to-six weeks and will rehabilitate with the Clippers‘ medical staff.
• Eric Gordon tells Michael Lee of The Vertical that his transition to the Rockets has been “smooth sailing.” Gordon has made the second most 3-pointers in the league this season (behind only Stephen Curry) and he credits coach Mike D’Antoni‘s system as part of the reason for his success. “It’s a little bit of everything,” Gordon said. “Style of play, and playing with a guy who can really pass the ball, and like I said, it’s a free-flowing system where everybody is able to get good shots and I’m just taking advantage and knocking down shots.”
• Gordon believes the Pelicans‘ uncertain ownership situation and constant changes made it difficult to thrive as a player, Lee writes in the same piece. “I was just getting better year after year with the Clippers, and then you make a major change with New Orleans, ownership and everything, so you had to start all over,” Gordon added. “It was a rough time in New Orleans. Guys can tell you that are still there now. It was a difficult task.”
• Gordon said he thought Phoenix had a better training staff and that was the reason why he signed there in 2012, as he tell Lee in the same piece. Gordon was a restricted free agent at the time and New Orleans exercised its right to match the Suns‘ offer.