With Cousins, Pelicans get better of trade as Kings start overhaul
The true ramifications of Sunday night’s blockbuster DeMarcus Cousins trade won’t be fully known for some time.
There are legitimate and intriguing basketball questions about the deal, which sent Cousins from the Sacramento Kings to the New Orleans Pelicans for three guards and this year’s first-round draft pick, such as how franchise centerpiece Anthony Davis and Cousins will mesh and whether the Pelicans will be able to keep Cousins past his 2018 free agency.
But from the Pelicans’ perspective, this was an absolute nobrainer. When given the chance to pair the two best big men in the NBA, you do it and figure out logistics later. Opposing defenses need to fret.
The Kings’ side is a different story, and the unknowns are likely to be hotly debated for some time.
Here are grades for each team in the megatrade and a look at the numerous angles of the deal:
PELICANS: A-
The Pelicans likely satisfied the franchise’s most important asset, Davis.
“This is an unbelievable weekend. All-Star MVP and now getting Boogie. It doesn’t get better than this,” Davis said.
The Pelicans have made the playoffs once since Davis arrived in 2012, getting swept in the first round by the Golden State Warriors in 2015, and are 21⁄2 games out of the No. 8 seed, in danger of missing the postseason again. That might not happen now with Cousins, but, more important, it tells Davis that they’re working to get him the help he needs.
New Orleans gave up last year’s No. 6 pick, Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and a first- and secondround pick in this year’s draft. The first-rounder reportedly has top-three protection, meaning that the pick will go to Sacramento if it’s No. 4 or lower. This is not a huge bounty for a player of Cousins’ stature.
There is some risk, aside from his volatile personality, that the Pelicans won’t be able to re-sign Cousins after next season. Had he stayed with the Kings, he could have signed a designated veteran’s extension that would’ve paid him about $210 million — a provision of the latest collective bargaining agreement.
The irony is that the provision was supposed to incentivize stars to stay with their teams. Now, the Pelicans will bank on appealing to Cousins with a player of Davis’ caliber.
More important to the immediate future, it gives the Pelicans an obvious route to contending in the West. Did someone say Golden State vs. New Orleans in the first round?
KINGS: C-
At first glance, this doesn’t look great for Sacramento. The Kings vowed that they wouldn’t trade Cousins, and then they traded him. That’s not going to sit well with players or agents in negotiations.
The Kings needed a franchise overhaul. They haven’t won more than 33 games since Cousins was drafted fifth overall out of Kentucky in 2010.
As for the actual haul, it’s obvious the Kings like Hield’s potential. The former Oklahoma star, 23, is averaging 8.6 points and shooting nearly 37% on threepointers, ranking among the top rookies.
Evans, who played for the Kings from 2009 to 2013, is averaging a career-low 9.5 points and coming off his third right knee surgery in nine months.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive had a strong affinity for Hield before the draft. He was the only owner to attend his pro day.
The trade might hinge on the results of the two draft picks this year. The silver lining is that because the Kings are expected to fall in the standings, it’s likely they’ll keep their own pick, which would have gone to the Chicago Bulls if it was outside the top 10. And the Philadelphia 76ers have the right to swap picks with the Kings if Sacramento’s is higher.
Because Sacramento’s haul wasn’t that big, this goes back to the unknowns. What was the market for Cousins, and did that factor into the Kings’ decision to move him four days before Thursday’s trade deadline? How much was Cousins affecting their culture, and was it time to reroute the franchise?
There’s no debating Cousins’ talent, but he does have baggage. And that baggage is headed to The Big Easy.