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Tiffani Thiessen (C) and Vlade Divac (R) during MTV’s 3rd Annual Rock N’ Jock Basketball 1993 in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Tiffani Thiessen (C) and Vlade Divac (R) during MTV’s 3rd Annual Rock N’ Jock Basketball 1993 in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
It was a period of time frozen in the past.
It seemed much longer ago that 15 years when Rick Adelman directed Sacramento to 61 victories and a deep run in the playoffs before the Kings were eliminated by the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Co. had the Lakers on the ropes during that series. Only a 3-pointer by Robert Horry that won Game 4, a dubious Game 6 Lakers’ victory that some wonder was legitimate, and a wild home Game 7 overtime loss kept the Kings out of the NBA Finals.
Those memorable days never seemed more removed for the Kings than in the wake of the DeMarcus Cousins trade on Monday.
The Kings received a package of spare parts from New Orleans in the trade for the All-Star center, picking up guards Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and 2017 first and second-round draft selections.
But after the trade was announced on Monday, Kings general manager Vlade Divac kicked Cousins on his way out of town. Divac said the trade was necessary for the “best direction” of the organization.
“Winning begins with culture and character matters,” Divac said in the team’s release, a not-so-thinly veiled shot at Cousins’ work ethic and demeanor with his team.
It got worse.
At a press conference later on Monday, Divac said the team had a better offer for Cousins two days earliere, but that it “disappeared.”
“I don’t want to discuss in details about the process. It was a big process for us,” Divac told reporters in Sacramento. “It was the best offer that we could get (at) the particular time.”
One part of the deal might have been driven by Kings owner Vivek Randadive’s fascination with Hield, a former Oklahoma All-American who has struggled getting much time during his rookie season with the Pelicans.
Randadive reportedly took an active role in Hield’s interview with the Kings’ pre-draft interview before Hield ended up in New Orleans. He has reportedly said that Hield has “Steph Curry potential.”
Hield is a very nice player. But comparing him to the league’s two-time NBA Most Valuable Player?
One other statistical item that might make the comparison dubious at best and border-line foolish.
Heading into the second half of the season, Cousins has six more 3-pointers than Hield.
The trade and what the Kings got back for their All-Star center underscores why the Kings will always be the Kings.
Since that 2002 playoff loss to the Lakers they have won two playoff series. They haven’t made the playoffs in the last 10 years.
And, there aren’t any trips to the Western Conference Finals coming through the door for this franchise in its current hapless state anytime soon.
Tgriffin@express-news.net
Twitter: @TimGriffinBig12
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