As the NBA trade deadline inched closer and Sacramento’s chances of looking like anything but a humiliated first-round playoff victim faded, the Kings’ front office united in one goal: Getting Vivek Ranadive on board with trading three-time All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins. For months, Kings execs, from basketball to the business side, were in lockstep with the reality that rebooting the franchise without Cousins was the only long-term solution. Ranadive, the embattled owner, was all that stood in the way.
Ranadive stepped aside on Sunday, clearing the way for the Kings to send Cousins and Omri Casspi to the Pelicans for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and 2017 first- and second-round picks. In dealing a top-10 talent like Cousins for a solid scoring rookie and a pair of picks, the message was unmistakable: Cousins is good, but we’re better off without him. Yahoo! Sports