Welp. The day many Kings fans dreaded is here, DeMarcus Cousins has been traded.
The Sacramento Kings have agreed to a deal that will send franchise centerpiece DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi to the New Orleans Pelicans for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, a 2017 first round pick, and a 2017 second round pick via the Philadelphia 76ers.
The organization and owner Vivek Ranadive have clearly made up their mind that Cousins couldn’t be a part of this organization anymore, despite saying everything to the contrary all season long. There were even talks of a 5 year and $200 million extension for Cousins coming this summer.
The major pieces the Kings are acquiring are the 2017 first round pick and Buddy Hield.
There is a caveat with the pick from New Orleans however. It will have a top three protection.
While unlikely, there is a scenario where the Pelicans keep the pick this year and it rolls over to 2018. New Orleans would have to miss the playoffs and win the NBA Draft Lottery.
It’s hard to imagine a team with Cousins and Anthony Davis not grabbing the 8th seed at least. This would also mean the Kings get a pick outside the lottery which isn’t great.
In Hield, the Kings get a 23-year-old shooting guard that has improved since his early struggles. His outside shooting is one of his strengths. In December and January, he shot over 40% from three on over four attempts per game. Something the Kings have desperately needed.
While Hield isn’t a franchise centerpiece, he can be a valuable rotation player. Not exactly what you want in return for a franchise big man but here we sit.
As for Tyreke Evans, I wouldn’t expect to see him in a Kings uniform for long if at all. He is a trade candidate between now and the February 23rd deadline. If they can’t find a trade partner, he will likely become a buy-out candidate.
The Kings will have some decisions to make with rest of their roster, especially at the wing position. It seems like they will let Ben McLemore walk this summer as a free agent.
This year’s rookie Malachi Richardson was showing flashes before can share the floor in a pace and space offense.
With the Kings likely getting much worse without Cousins, they will almost assuredly keep their pick. However, there is a good chance that the pick swap with the 76ers will come into play.
When the Kings agreed to trade Nik Stauskas and others to Philadelphia, they included a pick swap. This means if the Sixers had a better record than the Kings at the end of the season they could swap spots in the draft to get a higher pick.
While most assumed that wouldn’t come into play, here we are. The Kings are only three games up on Philadelphia and should be heading in the opposite direction.
The rest of the season should be a bumpy cruise to the finish. This Kings fan is ready to turn the page on this season but I’m scared to see what the next page has in store.