Two Former Sacramento Kings Fan Favorites Waived In February

Two former Sacramento Kings fan favorites have been waived this month. We chronicle the career decline of the former All-Stars.

The Sacramento Kings have not exactly been known for their draft savvy over the last 15+ years, but there have been rare occasions when the franchise makes the correct pick in the lottery or finds gold in the second round.

Such was the case in the early 2010s when the Kings selected DeMarcus Cousins in 2010 and Isaiah Thomas one year later. Cousins was a lottery pick, a no-brainer selection with the 5th overall pick as he was one of the most talented players in that year’s draft. Thomas was a different story. Questions about his size caused him to drop all the way to the bottom of the draft board, and Sacramento selected him with the 60th overall and final pick of the 2011 Draft.

At different paces, both players would become 20+ point scorers for Sacramento and looked like potential franchise cornerstones. While Cousins ended up lasting far longer in California’s capital than Thomas, both were shown the door in unfortunate trades that are still questioned by the fanbase to this day.

Isaiah Thomas

Thomas was traded to the Suns in July of 2014 and again to the Celtics just seven months later, which is where his career took off. He became an MVP candidate, averaging a shade under 29 points and 6 assists in 2016-’17 and leading Boston to the Eastern Conference Finals. Thomas famously played through injury and heartbreak during that postseason, making his eventual departure from the Celtics a somewhat messy one.

That hip injury would eventually begin to derail his career. After playing in 65+ games in each of his first six seasons, Thomas appeared in just 44 contests over his next two seasons, a period that included two trades, two releases, and a free agent signing. He began the 2019-’20 season with the Washington and appeared in 40 games for the Wizards before being dealt to the LA Clippers at the trade deadline.

Thomas was released three days later without ever appearing in a game.

DeMarcus Cousins

The success that Cousins enjoyed after leaving Sacramento was far more short lived. After being traded for Buddy Hield in February of 2017, he was flourishing alongside Anthony Davis in New Orleans. They were poised to make a playoff run in what was supposed to be their first full season together, and Cousins was averaging 25 points and nearly 13 rebounds per game. An unfortunate tear to his Achilles in January of 2018 began the steady decline of DeMarcus Cousins.

A questionable, unsuccessful contract negotiation with New Orleans led to Cousins joining the mighty Golden State Warriors for what would be the final year of their stint with Kevin Durant. He spent much of the 2018-’19 season rehabbing that Achilles injury, but played a handful of games at the end of the regular season and made his much-anticipated playoff debut.

His first postseason got off to a bad start. In the second game of the opening series, Cousins suffered a torn quad that would sideline him for the next 14 games as the Warriors pushed towards their third straight championship. He was able to return to participate in the Finals against the Toronto Raptors, but Golden State fell short due to a rash of injuries to some of their most important players.

Things would only get worse for Cousins. After signing with the new-look Los Angeles Lakers before the start of this season, the big man suffered a torn ACL in a workout nearly two months before opening tip. It looked like this might have been the end of the line for Cousins, who had suffered three leg injuries a span of less than two years. Recently, however, Lakers coach Frank Vogel stated that it was possible for Cousins to be ready for action in the playoffs.

But the good news did not last long. On Friday afternoon, the Lakers waived Cousins in a move that opens up a roster spot for the potential signing of Markieff Morris.

Final Thoughts

Now, less than a decade after they were drafted in to the league, both Isaiah Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins find themselves without work. Injuries have derailed the careers of both after so much hope and promise, both with the Kings and in their time after. There is a chance that a team picks one of them up down the stretch of this season, but they will likely end the year once again looking for a job.

As is usually the case whenever a former fan favorite becomes available, there have been some calls of “Bring back Boogie!” on Kings social media. Let’s stop that before we really start it. The Kings have moved on, and we all should too.