Warriors center keeps telling reporters how much he didn't like playing for the Kings

FILE - Willie Cauley-Stein #2 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball against the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center on November 01, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Cauley-Stein discussed some of the difficult aspects of playing with the Sacramento Kings during his first years in the NBA. less FILE - Willie Cauley-Stein #2 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball against the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center on November 01, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Cauley-Stein discussed some of the ... more Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Warriors center keeps telling reporters how much he didn't like playing for the Kings 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

Warriors center Willie Cauley-Stein doesn't seem super fond of his time in Sacramento. The big man, averaging 8.1 points and 6.4 rebounds on 61.1% shooting for Golden State, spoke with The Undefeated's Marc Spears in an interview published Wednesday and added to his list of grievances against the Kings franchise.

"In Sacramento, they put a tag on me that I wasn’t invested or I didn’t care about hoops like that," Cauley-Stein told The Undefeated. "You can’t go to one coach or one trainer in that facility and say I don’t work hard. But that’s one thing that they used to say. ‘Oh, he don’t work hard enough, blah, blah, blah.’ Dude, you don’t know how hard I’m working."

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This isn't the first time the center has spoken out against his former club, where he spent the first four years of his career. In a wide-ranging profile of Cauley-Stein from The San Francisco Chronicle where reporter Connor Letourneau spent time with the Warriors big in his small hometown in Kansas, Cauley-Stein explained why he had a challenging time in Sacramento.

“It was like all of the mistakes of the team were being put on me,” Cauley-Stein told the Chronicle. “That’s how I feel, like I was a scapegoat for everything. That s— was tough.”

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Cauley-Stein was drafted 6th overall by the Kings in the 2015 Draft on his potential as a rim-running big with the potential to guard all five positions. He never quite realized his star potential in Sacramento, opting to sign with the Warriors upon hitting free agency following the 2018-2019 season.

Michael Rosen is an SFGATE digital editor. Email: michael.rosen@sfgate.com.