Sacramento Kings trade DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans Pelicans
The Sacramento Kings finally pulled the trigger, trading All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night
DeMarcus Cousins has been a name coming up around the NBA Trade Deadline for several years now. It never fails that the Sacramento Kings All-Star center would be rumored to be going to a number of teams. With the Kings again stuck in the mire, though, things seemed to really be heating up on Sunday night towards the end of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
It all began with The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the Kings had offers on the table and were no longer taking any calls from other teams. From there, a trade started to seem inevitable. And before Sunday night was over—though after the All-Star Game had concluded—the deal was done.
As first reported by Wojnarowski, the Kings are trading DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for a huge package centered around rookie guard Buddy Hield and a 2017 first-round pick:
Sacramento has agreed to trade DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans, league source tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 20, 2017
Deal with the Pels includes guard Buddy Hield, and a 2017 first-round pick to the Kings for Cousins, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 20, 2017
With just that information, the internet rightfully starting losing its collective mind about what the Kings were getting in return. However, Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Marc Stein both confirmed the rest of the package for the big man, which includes a second-round pick (via the 76ers), Langston Galloway and Tyreke Evans:
Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and a future first- and second-round to Sacramento for DeMarcus Cousins, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 20, 2017
Essentially since Anthony Davis arrived with the Pelicans as the No. 1 overall pick, there has been a call to get him help on the interior. Omer Asik and Kendrick Perkins were doomed ventures from the start. But now the superstar power forward will be playing alongside one of the best centers in the NBA.
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As for the Kings, they continue to look like they’re playing checkers in the NBA’s grand chess game. There had to be better, more enticing packages out there. Be it because of stubbornness, ignorance or whatever else, though, they finally pulled the trigger on a Cousins deal. And they have relatively little to show for it. Yikes.
Update
Sacramento is sending forward Omri Casspi to New Orleans in DeMarcus Cousins trade, league sources tell @TheVertical
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2017
The Kings reportedly are also giving up veteran Omri Casspi to the Pelicans as part of the trade. If more pieces involved come to light, we’ll keep you updated.