The Sacramento Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans for what amounts to Buddy Hield, a mid-end first-round pick, a second-round pick and filler. If general manager Vlade Divac had his way, though, he would have netted one of the league’s brightest young players in any deal he struck.
Here’s what Divac said in an article published by BlicSport, which was translated and brought to our attention by BSN Denver’s T.J. McBride:
There was no way that we (could get) Jokic. I wanted him, but (Denver refused). I tried to get Booker in Phoenix, and Ingram from the Lakers but there was no chance. I wanted to start from the beginning and I think that’s for the best.
Kudos to Divac for shooting high. But his attempts were always going to be futile. Cousins’ on-court trade value had not, theoretically, plummeted, but the Kings’ lack of leverage coupled with the big man’s scheduled foray into free agency after next season certainly made him less appealing to teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns when the cost of business would have been Brandon Ingram, Nikola Jokic and Devin Booker, respectively.
Maybe Divac would have landed Ingram from the Lakers if Magic Johnson was in charge by that point. It’s unclear why Jeanie Buss and him elected to shake up the front office a little more than 48 hours before the trade deadline; some people think it’s because they failed to get Cousins.
Not that it matters, though. Divac could have brokered a deal for Ingram or Booker or another young stud, and owner Vivek Ranadive might’ve still preferred the Buddy Hield package. Hield, after all, is the next Stephen Curry.
