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Sacramento Kings: Mistakes Made In DeMarcus Cousins Era

By Lance Roberson

May 10, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings vice president of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac during a press conference at the Sacramento Kings XC (Experience Center). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings vice president of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac during a press conference at the Sacramento Kings XC (Experience Center). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 10, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings vice president of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac during a press conference at the Sacramento Kings XC (Experience Center). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings vice president of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac during a press conference at the Sacramento Kings XC (Experience Center). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

The Sacramento Kings have once again taken a page from the WWE. We are far removed from the respected early 2000s Kings. This regime is like the referee allowing interference with a steel chair; everyone but them knows it happened.

The Sacramento Kings and DeMarcus Cousins stole the show from the NBA All-Star Game within just a few minutes after the yearly spectacle. The trade hit like a “Stone Cold stunner.” There was no rumor of the trade, not even NBA Twitter could come up with this.

We can’t forget about the New Orleans Pelicans in this transaction. For now, the Pelicans are on the winning side of this blockbuster trade.

Before we can dive deep into the Kings’ problems of talent management, we have to look at the holes in the Cousins trade.

If Cousins doesn’t warrant at least two first-round picks, Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez might not even be worth one. The market has spoken. The pick isn’t even a guaranteed asset for the Kings, per Marc Stein.

The fact that the Kings couldn’t get a guaranteed pick for arguably the best big man in the league is laughable. They settled for a trade that quite honestly, they were better off not doing.

Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Sacramento Kings

The Kings could have gotten a lot more from the Boston Celtics by just solely trading for the highly coveted 2017 Brooklyn Nets first-round pick. It’s as one-sided as it gets.

The Sacramento Kings also didn’t get a legit player in the deal either. Tyreke Evans was on the team before. He was only thrown in as an expiring contract and to help match contracts. Langston Galloway could be a decent role player, but not on this Kings’ roster.

Buddy Hield‘s 3-point shooting is promising, but there are many other question marks surrounding his game. The Kings have to bank on the Pelicans not going on a late-season run to get a lottery pick. There is a pretty good chance the Pelicans make the playoffs.

Cousins is worth more than that. Point. Blank. Period.

Cousins is no angel by any means with his time on the Kings, even so, as an organization there is a higher business standard when it comes to front office positions. So for this point on, let’s focus on some of the most questionable decisions the Kings have made in the DeMarcus Cousins era.

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