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Sacramento Kings: How trading DeMarcus Cousins saved the Kings

By James Carroll

AUBURN HILLS, MI - JANUARY 23: DeMarcus Cousins #15 of the Sacramento Kings looks on while playing the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills on January 23, 2017 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Sacramento won the game 109-104. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - JANUARY 23: DeMarcus Cousins #15 of the Sacramento Kings looks on while playing the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills on January 23, 2017 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Sacramento won the game 109-104. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Sacramento Kings
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 11: De’Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings dribbles the ball against the Washington Wizards in the first half at Capital One Arena on March 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. DeMarcus Cousins Sacramento Kings DeMarcus Cousins (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Other Ramifications of the Trade

After the trade, while the Pelicans scuttled to a disappointing closeout of their season, the Kings put together a paltry 8-27 record over the final 35 games of the 2017 season.

But this was by no means bad news for the Sacramento Kings. In fact, this was exactly the primary motivation for moving Cousins in the first place.

The ghost of a terrible trade from years past still threatened to haunt them.

Six years prior, the Kings would complete a complicated deal that would land them J.J. Hickson. In Sacramento fashion, Hickson was terrible for the Kings and lasted only 35 games before being waived. He most recently played basketball in China.

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Heading back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in that deal would be none other than Omri Casspi — a bit of transaction poetry — and a protected first-round pick sometime between the 2012 and 2017 drafts.

Protection on that pick would fluctuate year to year moving between top-12 and top-10 restrictions. In simpler terms, if the pick fell within the protection for the 2012 NBA Draft, it would carry over to the 2013 NBA Draft, and so on.

If the Kings somehow made it all the way through the 2017 NBA Draft with picks that fell into the protection (read: if the Kings were able to consistently suck for six consecutive seasons), then they would only have to give up a second-round pick.

By going 8-27 in the final 35 games of the 2016-2017 season, the Kings secured a fifth overall pick and were officially free of the Curse of Casspi.

Oh, and that fifth overall pick turned into De’Aaron Fox, the other half of that sensational young backcourt that the Kings have locked down for years to come.

Fox may very well be one of the most exciting young talents in the league. He has lightning-quick hands and reads the game at an elite pace, finishing at a high percentage on the inside, and orchestrating a run-and-gun offense that suits many of the other dynamic young players on the roster.

Last season, at the age of 21, Fox played 81 games and averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. He finished top-10 in the NBA in both assists and steals.

We may look back and consider De’Aaron Fox the steal of the loaded 2017 NBA Draft class.

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