Pelicans acquire DeMarcus Cousins from Kings in blockbuster NBA trade

In a wide-ranging interview with The Sacramento Bee’s Ailene Voisine, Kings general manager Vlade Divac talked about the aftermath of the DeMarcus Cousins trade. Divac believes fans should give him time to see if the trade puts Sacramento on the right path, and that if it doesn’t, he’ll step down.

“I totally understand why some fans would be upset,” Divac said. “They supported DeMarcus, and I like DeMarcus a lot. But I believe we are going to be in a better position in two years. I want to hear again from these same people in two years.

Let’s just say DeMarcus Cousins is not a fan of the way the Sacramento Kings handled the trade that moved him from the only NBA franchise he’s ever known.

The Kings dealt Cousins (and Omri Casspi) to the New Orleans Pelicans in a ground-breaking trade just moments after the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. In exchange, they received rookie shooting guard Buddy Hield, point guard Langston Galloway, ex-Kings guard Tyreke Evans, and New Orleans’ 2017 first- and second-round picks.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Jrue Holiday knows he’s a leader. He’s just not sure what kind.

He’s always positive with his teammates, even when offering criticism. He uses every experience as a teaching moment. He only speaks when necessary. His play commands respect, and he dishes it out equally.

By trading DeMarcus Cousins, the Sacramento Kings signaled that they would be rebuilding. The team has no sure-thing prospects on the roster and Sacramento is not typically a market that allures high-octane free agents. With reports swirling that the Kings are anxious to trade off the few quality veterans on the roster, including Darren Collison, the goal is clear: get bad enough to get a high draft pick and start the rebuild from there.

The problem is that the Kings have handicapped their tank job in multiple ways already.

The Sacramento Kings have been in the NBA draft lottery for 10 straight years. With those 10 picks, the Kings managed to draft exactly one star, DeMarcus Cousins. On Sunday, Sacramento traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans. Now they have little to show for ever having had Cousins in the first place.

Wait, that’s not true. They do have something to show for the Boogie era: the burning wreckage of his tenure, a mess that will continue to smolder for years to come.

Kings general manager Vlade Divac said in a Monday press conference the Sacramento Kings had a better offer for DeMarcus Cousins two days ago that “disappeared.” Instead, Cousins was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a deal centered around Buddy Hield on Sunday.

It’s a bizarre admission for Divac, who was trying to justify why the Kings traded Cousins instead of waiting until Thursday’s deadline. While Cousins’ value had obviously dropped, the Kings still made a trade that netted them an objectively poor return — Hield, a first-round pick that may not even be in the lottery, and two players with expiring contracts not expected to be part of the future.

The DeMarcus Cousins blockbuster trade to the Pelicans shook the entire NBA to its core. We could think of nobody better than our own Tom Ziller, a lifelong Kings fan, to make sense of it. Go read his column on the deal if you haven’t already.

Among the topics discussed:

Everyone loves Buddy Hield, a rags-to-riches success story who grew up shooting on a handmade basketball hoop who has an infectious, friendly personality. The Kings, though, might love him a little too much.

A large reason why Sacramento was willing to trade DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday was reportedly because they were getting Hield back in return, who they saw as a top-five talent in last year’s draft. (Hield ended up going No. 6 in a weak draft.)

A surreal moment happened after the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, when DeMarcus Cousins appeared to be told about his potential trade to the New Orleans Pelicans seconds before addressing the media.

The person who leans in to tell him is Chris Clark, who is Kings PR. At this moment, rumors were circulating but Cousins’ trade to the Pelicans had not been officially reported. It’s possible Clark had advanced information that the Kings front office was planning to make that trade, and told Boogie definitively that it was happening. More likely, he just told Cousins about the rumors.

You often hear team employees share negative stories about key players after they’re traded, but they’re usually more subtle than this. Here’s Kings TV play-by-play man Grant Napear’s reaction to DeMarcus Cousins being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Napear and Cousins have a history. In 2013, Cousins confronted Napear following a win against the Clippers, pounding the broadcast table before running away.

In light of the Pelicans’ mega-trade for DeMarcus Cousins, some people are shocked and saying that these types of trades only happen in video games.

So, we tried it. Here is the trade scenario when you enter it into NBA 2K.

After picking up a technical foul in the second quarter — his 17th of the season — DeMarcus Cousins was the favorite to be ejected during the Sacramento Kings’ matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday.

But it was first-year guard Buddy Hield who got the boot after a bizarre sequence of events left Cousins confused and sent officials to the replay booth.