For the scant few of you holding out hope DeMarcus Cousins would become available leading into the NBA’s Feb. 23 deadline, it’s time to move on once and for all…at least until next year’s trade deadline.
During an interview with SportsCenter on Thursday, Cousins declared his allegiance to the Sacramento Kings, stating his intention to sign an extension this summer while essentially indicating he wants to finish his career with the team that drafted him. Here’s the lowdown, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne:
DeMarcus Cousins says he intends to sign an extension with the Kings this summer, because he wants his “legacy to end in Sacramento” and his “jersey to be in the rafters in Sacramento.”
In an interview with SportsCenter on Thursday, the All-Star center said he considered Sacramento to be his home after seven years in the NBA.
“I’m very happy,” Cousins said. “It’s where I want to be.”
The Kings still stink. They remain in the hunt for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff slot, but in all likelihood, they aren’t going to get it. And that sweepstakes is a slopfest.
Maybe Cousins’ relationship with head coach Dave Joerger and/or general manager Vlade Divac is just this strong. Maybe he and owner Vivek Ranadive are on the same page. Maybe Cousins truly, wholly, honestly believes the Kings are on the right path.
Or maybe he’s just saying all the right things, because he knows they can tender him a five-year extension this summer worth, per Shelburne, $219 million. That’s enough money to get anyone to stay anywhere, and the new collective bargaining agreement gives the Kings an ability to peddle that contract, via the Designated Player Exception.
With Cousins angling toward a five-year deal that, I believe, will be in addition to his 2017-18 salary, locking him down for the next six years, Sacramento needn’t shop him. The trade front can always be revisited at a later date if things aren’t working out, at which point the Kings will be able to demand even more for his services since he’ll be under lock and key for a longer period of time.
