The failed DeMarcus Cousins pursuit shows why Jeanie Buss fired her brother as Lakers VP

Los Angeles Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss had already decided to fire her brother and vice president Jim Buss, along with general manager Mitch Kupchak, days before the Feb. 23 trade deadline. But the botched handling of a potential DeMarcus Cousins trade reinforced her belief and confirmed her decision to promote Magic Johnson as the team’s president of basketball operations, according to ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne.

Before the mammoth trade that paired Cousins with New Orleans Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis, Sacramento Kings GM Vlade Divac reached out to Johnson to gauge the team’s interest in acquiring its three-time All-Star.

Johnson, who was only a team consultant at the time, referred Divac to Kupchak, according to Shelburne, since he did not have the authority to discuss trades with opposing executives.

Divac had ownership approval to trade Cousins in a deal that landed Lakers’ rookie Brandon Ingram or New Orleans Pelicans rookie Buddy Hield, per Shelburne. Johnson never heard back from Lakers management regarding a Cousins trade.

Writes Shelburne:

But by the time the Lakers got involved, Divac and Pelicans general manager Dell Demps, both in New Orleans for the All-Star Game, had met four or five times in person to discuss a deal, sources told ESPN’s Marc Stein. He was negotiating over the phone with Buss and Kupchak — despite the fact that Magic was in New Orleans that weekend for ESPN.

Los Angeles did, in fact, discuss a trade for Cousins, but would not include the rookie Ingram in their offer, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Sacramento then shifted its focus to getting a deal done with New Orleans — they received Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, and a 2017 first- and second-round pick.

The Lakers may have been able to offer a better package. But by not involving Magic, they slept while New Orleans made moves.

And if Johnson made one thing clear in his first act as president — dealing Lou Williams to Houston for Corey Brewer and a 2017 first-rounder — it’s that he won’t sleep until the Lakers win again.