The moment DeMarcus Cousins finds out he was traded to the Pelicans (Video)
By John Buhler
All-Star Center DeMarcus Cousins found he had been traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in the middle of his post-game press conference.
The 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans came and went. While the West defeated the East 192-182, the real winner of All-Star weekend was the New Orleans Pelicans. Not only did star power forward Anthony Davis win All-Star Game MVP by scoring a record 52 points, but New Orleans was able to negotiate a deal with the Sacramento Kings for center DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins played sparingly in the All-Star Game, as rumors of him being dealt dominated social media in the second half of the glorified exhibition. Sacramento was essentially live tweeting its negotiations during the middle of the game.
Around midnight on the East Coast, the deal was in place that sent Cousins from Sacramento to New Orleans. Given the way the whole negotiating process went down, it was only fitting Cousins found out about the trade in the middle of his post-game press conference.
Cousins had been open to re-signing a multi-year deal with the Kings organization this summer. While he wanted to have his jersey hanging from the Golden 1 Center rafters, Cousins will now begin the second chapter of his NBA career a little closer to home.
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Cousins grew up in nearby Mobile and spoke very highly of the city of New Orleans immediately after the news was whispered in his ear mid-press conference. Waiting for him in New Orleans will be a fellow Kentucky Wildcat alum in Davis. The idea is for New Orleans to become stout in the frontcourt in an effort to win in the Western Conference right away.