When the Sacramento Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans in February of 2017, Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Vlade Divac received a lot of scrutiny for the deal.
Vlade Divac traded DeMarcus Cousins for guards Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and Buddy Hield, a 2017 first-round draft pick and a 2017 second-round draft pick. Evans and Galloway are no longer on the Kings, but Hield has turned into a very valuable piece for the franchise.
Sacramento used the 2017 first-round draft pick on big man Zach Collins, but traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft night for forwards Harry Giles and Justin Jackson. The 2017 second-round pick was used on guard Frank Mason.
Now looking back on the trade, Divac says he has no regrets about the trade and believes it was the right move to make, per Sam Amick of The Atheltic.
Sam Amick: So I know this probably isn’t where your head was at, but because it was New Orleans tonight I’m sitting there thinking about how that trade looks now. Does that cross your mind as you watch?
“No. It was just one step for us to make it happen,” Divac said when asked whether or not he's thinking about the Cousins trade.
“We’re not even close where we want to be, but we’ve made big progress. That night (of the Cousins trade), I knew that was just one step towards what we’re trying to build. I was joking with Buddy, I said, ‘Are you happy that I brought you here from New Orleans?’ He came back, ‘Are you happy you brought me here?’ (Laughs) It’s both ways.”
“Look, I don’t want to go back and talk (about the trade), but I knew that second what I’m getting – bigger picture. Not just Buddy, not just the pick, not just (the second)… But I knew also that I’m going to get down and be in the lottery, so we picked (that) course. That’s why it’s the whole picture, but people are thinking just on the surface, and I didn’t want to go back and explain and try to defend myself. I just believe in what I have to do.”
Cousins is no longer on the Pelicans after opting to sign with the Golden State Warriors this past offseason. Hield, meanwhile, is averaging 20.4 points per game this 2018-19 campaign for the Kings and shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 44.0 percent from beyond the arc.
With all these, a case could be made that Divac and the Kings won the Cousins trade by a long shot.
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