Sacramento Kings now has to rebuild its team from scratch after sending away its main center DeMarcus Cousins and forward Omri Casspi to New Orleans. The Kings management has a confidence to get a good material in rookie point guard Buddy Hield. However, the management also made similar comment three years ago about Nik Stauskas.
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has confidence that Hield will be the next Stephen Curry, according CBS Sports. However, Ranadive also applauded Stauskas three years ago when drafting him to Sacramento in 2014 NBA Draft.
Ranadive said that Stauskas had the ability to shoot like Curry and big like Klay Thompson. However, the Canadian player was unable to deliver a promising play in Sacramento.
The Kings later traded Stauskas to Philadelphia 76ers in the 2015 off-season. Subsequently the 6’6” guard performed better in his new team.
Trade of Cousins to New Orleans was very surprising to many people, including fans and analysts. It is because the deal is so bizarre. New Orleans Pelicans received a star center, while on the other hands, Kings has to reboot the team from scratch with lower quality players.
Basketball analyst at The Guardian TJ Gallo called the deal as the worst deal for Sacramento Kings. He also pointed out the side effect of the deal that prompted Kings to waive veteran forward Matt Barnes to free a roster space.
This deal also means Sacramento Kings has given up its playoff race. Right now, it has 24-33 records, and very closely behind Denver Nuggets in the 8th place with 25-31.
Cousins was a dominant force for Sacramento Kings. With him, the team was able to defeat New Orleans Pelicans in their two games this season. Their next meeting will be held on March. 31 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, which will be a totally different game.
Watch the highlight of the game on Feb. 12, when Sacramento Kings played the Pelicans and won 105-99 below:
