Sacramento Kings: Early Returns For The Post-Cousins Era

After a week full of controversy and headlines following the DeMarcus Cousins trade, we finally have our first impressions of the new look Sacramento Kings.

It may only be two games in, but a new era is officially underway for the Sacramento Kings.

A long week of reactions following the trade of DeMarcus Cousins had dominated the talk surrounding the team, both on a local and national level.  The ensuing comments regarding the deal, specifically the ones made by general manager Vlade Divac, only added more fuel to the fire.

Cousins himself hasn’t been shy at all about his feelings about the move, criticizing both Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and Divac for the way they handled everything in the lead up to the trade in a recent interview with Marc Spears of The Undefeated.

Despite any objections fans and followers of the team may have over the move itself, the Kings faithful has welcomed the new additions of Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans and Langston Galloway with open arms.

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But now, any trade reactions have gradually gone on the back burner in favor for what the team looks like in the wake of the move, however few games it may be.

Of course, there was the first game back from the All-Star break on Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets.  For all the intrigue and speculation, the Kings caught everyone by surprise by taking care of the Nuggets easily, winning 116-100.

It was a true team victory, the type many team officials have been preaching about over the last week, the Kings delivered one of their best offensive performances of the year and had six players score in double figures against the Nuggets.

If there was one standout for the night, however, it would have to go to Willie Cauley-Stein as he had a career night, scoring a career-high 29 points and hauling in 10 rebounds in his 35 minutes of play.

Unfortunately, the Kings followed up that victory by being stifled by the Charlotte Hornets yesterday afternoon, showing the struggles that many envisioned after the Cousins deal.

The contrast and inconsistency in performances on a game-to-game basis had been the case before for the Kings, but it will now be seen in a new light after the events of the last week.

There’s also the stark difference in the quality of defenses they faced the last two games, with the Nuggets ranking dead last in defensive efficiency, while the Hornets are ranked seventh, per NBA.com.

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Although it’s too soon to draw any conclusions in the team’s overall play just yet, the amount of playing time that has opened up for the team’s promising young players has become an interesting plot in the team’s newly established rebuild.

The shining example of that so far has been Skal Labissiere, who has already played more than half of his total minutes over the last two games.

For his part though, Labissiere has earned those minutes, providing a bolt of energy whenever he’s on the floor and showing flashes of his potential as he’s averaged 10 points (on 52.9 percent shooting from the field) and eight rebounds in 18.4 minutes over the last two games.

That type of development has obviously become the team’s newfound priority for the remainder of the year and beyond. It extends all throughout the roster, from Labissiere, Hield and Cauley-Stein to Georgios Papagiannis and Malachi Richardson, who’s currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Next: 2017 NBA Trade Deadline: Grades For All 30 Teams

Two games into the post-Cousins era, the Kings have become a fascinating watch for a whole host of reasons many, if not all, did not expect before last week.  Sure, as they stand now, it likely won’t mean much in terms of success for the present, but they’re finally starting somewhere with the future in mind.