Sacramento Kings: Was Trading Cousins The Right Move?
The Sacramento Kings found an extreme way to grab headlines Sunday evening. They traded their biggest star, DeMarcus Cousins, and now have some tough questions to address.
By now you’ve heard the news. You’ve retweeted the Woj-bombs. You’ve stared longingly at your collection of former Sacramento Kings jerseys.
The rumors came true. DeMarcus Cousins has been traded. He was sent to the New Orleans Pelicans just hours after playing the NBA All-Star Game, coincidentally in New Orleans this year after it was moved from North Carolina. There’s a joke to be made about the Kings saving money on airfare, but I’ll leave that for the rest of Twitter.
When we look at the deal, it seems that these are the players involved in the deal:
After the rumors surfaced and eventually came to fruition, the New Orleans Pelicans did pipe up with a wordless and cheeky comment on Twitter tonight:
Needless to say, this is a huge deal for both teams, though for vastly different reasons. The Pelicans now own what has to be considered the best big-man combo in the league this season, and maybe the best combo in decades. Anthony Davis, a former Kentucky Wildcat just like Cousins, is an MVP contender yearly and just won the 2017 NBA All-Star Game MVP. The rest of the league will be pretty scared to face the playoff-hopeful Pelicans, just based on the size of their lineup alone.
The Kings on the other hand, are in a losing situation at the moment. I will be frank and say that I am and always will be a supporter of my hometown team, but right now this deal is hard to stomach. Not because the Kings traded their best player and only dominant athlete on either side of the ball, but because they did it in such an odd manner.
Looking back into the last week of news, we recall that Cousins mentioned how he was happy in Sacramento and wanted to sign a long-term, max deal this upcoming offseason if not sooner. Even after playing in the All-Star Game tonight, Cousins dismissed any trade rumors, saying he was happy. Also this week, Kings sources said that the team would not be trading Cousins at this point, and the agent of Cousins confirmed that Sunday night just barely 10 minutes before the trade news broke.
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Now that is one wacky Sunday evening during what was supposed to be a ‘break’ for most teams and players. Unfortunately it seems that the Kings went back on their word, and rebuffed Cousins’ enthusiasm for a new deal. There were also reports that the Kings would wait and see what other offers came up, considering the trade deadline for the league isn’t until this upcoming Thursday.
While the sources could be misinformed, and we will never truly know what went down in the war room of owner Vivek Ranadive and GM Vlade Divac, social media and many reporters are not holding back their criticism of the way the Kings handled the whole situation.
Also, the return on a player as spectacular as Cousins seems less than stellar at this point. The two extra draft picks could obviously change how we view the trade, but at the moment, the Kings may only keep Buddy Hield. Many different beat writers have mentioned the Kings are looking to dump the salaries of Langston Galloway and Tyreke Evans (who is a free agent this summer), and may even part ways with Matt Barnes.
It’s no secret that the Kings had some chemistry issues over the years. Whether it was George Karl, the Maloofs or some other problem, the Kings are anything but a stable ship in a busy sea of NBA activity. They haven’t been able to lure major free agents over the years, and this whole saga surely can’t look good to the community of sports agents and their clients. The Kings have had a tough time finding consistent leadership, and Cousins had a tougher time trying to control his temper on and off the court.
Cousins ultimately needed to be traded to allow the team to find a new direction, but it should have been for something more substantial given all of these circumstances as described above. The coming days will be fascinating to watch, because this is far from over. Fans of the Kings are taking the news pretty hard on social media, with many claiming to be season ticket holders wanting their money back. Kings’ forward Anthony Tolliver was one of the first current Kings players to chime in on social media. In a tweet that has since been deleted, all Tolliver had to say was “SMH…”.
The Kings have so many questions to answer in the next six months. Who will take charge and make up the gaping lack of nearly 30 points and 10 rebounds per game? Will the Kings make any other moves? What will they do in this year’s guard-heavy draft? Will they be able to convince Rudy Gay to stay through a very likely rebuilding period? This is the biggest move in the new ownership’s history, and arguably bigger than when the Kings traded Chris Webber in 2005.
Next: DeMarcus Cousins Staying in New Orleans
As a Sacramento-raised Kings fan who writes about the team, I know my eyes (as well that of many other Kings fans) will be permanently glued to Twitter for the next few months, because this roller coaster ride is far from over.
Was this the right deal for the Kings to make? Let us know your thoughts on this blockbuster deal in the comments below!