Sacramento Kings: How trading DeMarcus Cousins saved the Kings

Conclusion

In order to properly analyze how this trade impacted both of these franchises, we must first understand the teams’ motivations in making the move and judge them by those standards.

For the Pelicans, a major personnel upgrade was necessary in order to take full advantage of the window of Anthony Davis’ prime.

Failing to make a meaningful playoff push while housing Davis would be a monumental franchise failure and could even translate into the risk of losing him to free agency (or, perhaps, to a demanded trade).

Cousins brought the star power that Davis was looking for, but ultimately had very little impact when it came to the Pelicans’ playoff aspirations.

Sure, he put up monster numbers that helped project New Orleans into a sixth-seeded appearance, but his untimely injury neutered any legitimate shot of competing against the Warriors.

But the Pelicans can’t be blamed for their unfortunate circumstances. Had Cousins never been injured, who knows how much trouble they would have caused against the Warriors.

And even if they didn’t, Cousins would have likely signed a long-term deal with New Orleans, solidifying a tandem between him and Davis that would have been a historically dominant duo for years.

For the Kings, Cousins was an asset that was losing value the longer they sat on him. His agents leveraged his situation by contacting other teams’ front offices and warning that Cousins had no intention of signing long-term deals anywhere but with Sacramento, who could offer him the most money.

The Kings did not make the postseason a single time with Cousins as their cornerstone player. Whether that was the direct result of having him on the team or not, Vlade Divac’s call to building a new culture around a younger, faster roster led by Dave Joerger did not factor Cousins into that plan.

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With the pieces finally falling into place, the Sacramento Kings have essentially turned DeMarcus Cousins into De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, and several other young players with serious upside.

They alleviated the ‘Curse of Omri Casspi’ that hung over their heads in the form of limited draft asset flexibility for almost an entire decade.

They committed to drafting and scouting carefully — focusing on quickness and durability to form a potential starting five made up of five players under the age of 31.

There would have been no chance that Cousins could have fit into an NBA offense that finished top-five in pace last season. The Sacramento Kings have completely reinvented themselves.

And they’ve done it in the unofficial two-year timeframe imposed by Divac.

Ironically now, the New Orleans Pelicans are attempting to make a similar rebuild happen as they’ve been forced to move on from their own cornerstone piece, Anthony Davis. It remains to be seen if their luck will turn around.

But for the Sacramento Kings, the team heads into the 2019-2020 season with a starting lineup of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III, and a five of their choosing — a lineup made possible by the direct effects of the Demarcus Cousins trade.

The Pelicans have a daunting rebuild ahead of them before they ever realize their playoff aspirations.

But Kings fans likely won’t have to wait much longer.