After successfully hosting the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend, New Orleans carried on winning, landing talented big man DeMarcus Cousins in a blockbuster trade. The New Orleans Pelicans have reportedly acquired Cousins for a package that includes Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and the team’s 2017 first and second round picks. The New Orleans Pelicans will also be getting veteran forward Omri Casspi.
The deal, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, follows word that the Sacramento Kings privately promised DeMarcus Cousins that he would not be traded before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Kings GM Vlade Divac has also repeatedly said that they would not be trading the All-Star center. “We met with Vlade [Divac] and ownership and they assured us and DeMarcus that he’s not being traded,” DeMarcus Cousins’ agent told The Vertical Sunday night. Cousins was scheduled to be a free agent in 2018.
The NBA landscape-tilting trade will pair two of the best big men in the league for the 23-34 New Orleans Pelicans, who are currently sitting at 11th in the Western Conference, two and a half games behind the eighth seed in the West. DeMarcus Cousins is in the middle of another stellar statistical year, averaging 27.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 55 games for the Sacrament Kings. Anthony Davis, who won All-Star Game MVP honor in New Orleans, norms 27.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
As noted by Wojnarowski, the 24-33 Sacramento Kings, ninth in the West, were at significant risk of losing a 2017 top-10 protected pick to the Chicago Bulls. Trading away their best player, increases their chances of holding on to the pick in what is expected to be a deep 2017 draft class. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis now in the starting front court, the New Orleans Pelicans are now seeking a trade partner for erstwhile starting forward Terrence Jones.
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