A Look Back at the Kings’ Blockbuster DeMarcus Cousins Trade
Drafted in 2010, C DeMarcus Cousins spent the height of his career with the Sacramento Kings and stayed in California's capital city for over six seasons before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2017. The deal returned a first and second round picks for that year, along with Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, and Langston Galloway.
Cousins was traded during the 2017 All-Star break that was ironically hosted in New Orleans that season, prompting a live reaction from the 3-time All-Star at the time.
For Sacramento, this gave them more stock in the 2017 draft, the same year they selected franchise cornerstone PG De'Aaron Fox with the fifth overall pick. The Kings would use the pick they received from the Pelicans to select F Zach Collins, who was traded on draft night for forwards Justin Jackson and Harry Giles.
While Jackson and Giles didn't stay with the Kings for long, the team would eventually use Jackson in a 2019 deal with the Dallas Mavericks that acquired a key piece of the 2023-24 roster in F Harrison Barnes. The veteran has started in Sacramento's last 143 games, proving his consistency and value to the organization day-in and day-out.
For the other players involved in the infamous Boogie trade, F Buddy Hield arrived in California halfway through his rookie season and spent upwards of five years with the Kings before being included in the 2022 trade which saw Sabonis join the Beam Team.
Alongside Buddy was G Tyreke Evans, who returned to Sacramento after winning the Rookie of the Year award with the team in the 2009-10 season. Evans only played 14 more games with the organization before ending his career two years later.
The deal has still impacted today's team, with Barnes indirectly arriving because of pick swaps over time. Even if Cousin's dominance may be missed in the paint, Kings fans have reason to be pleased when looking back on this blockbuster trade.
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