I was shocked by the Cousins trade. Boogie was incredible to watch play. The Kings had little success during the years DMC was here so I eventually understood the need for the trade. Now the Kings have young players with upside at every position. I have highlighted the players I consider a net result of the Cousins trade:
PG Fox, Mason
SG Buddy, Bogdan, Malachi
SF Jackson
PF Skal, Giles
C WCS, Bam Bam
To really judge any deal you have to take into account all the net results. not just the direct ones. So I think it is fair to include the Kings own pick that became Fox and all the players that are signed with that Max Money Boogie would have received. If a younger Veteran is signed who is with the Kings long term these net results become pretty amazing. The trade becomes one that will need to be judged a little differently than we have seen so far.
There are two Veterans on the Kings, Temple and Koufos. Both are good players with good locker room presence. The Kings have the most cap space in the NBA and no bad contracts!!!
As much as I loved to watch Boogie play I must admit I do not miss the on court tantrums. The Players appeared to get along great post trade and played pretty well all things considered.
Vlade and company have done a great job setting the stage for the rebuild.
I was advocating for a Cousins trade only because I didn't see a path forward with him due to previous screw ups but the Kings FO. But I was very underwhelmed by the return for him.
That said I think the Kings are poised to be a better team in a couple seasons than if they'd given Cousins a $200+ million super max deal and kept trying to build around him withmid to late lottery picks and FA signings.
And there have been a number of players talking about how good the chemistry/locker room were at the end of the season. And a LOT more top prospects working out for the Kings this draft season.
I'm sure part of that is Perry and part of that is seeing a true rebuild with opportunities for young players. But I have to imagine a big part of it is Cousins not being here.
I'll be very interested to see how New Orleans does this season. Partly to see how the two teams fare comparatively after what some in the media called the "worst trade in NBA history" but mostly because I'll always root for Boogie.
But now it's a bit different. The only way I can explain it is that it's the difference (for me) of being an uncle vs being a father. When I'd go and see my brother's family or my sister's family I'd visit and play with my nieces and nephews. I love them but it was nice that when they got spooled out or threw tantrums I could always say my goodbyes and head home. But with my own kids, when they lose it (and thankfully it's pretty rare that they do) Im stuck. I have to ride it out, do my best to resolve things, apologize for them etc.
Cousins is now like a nephew.