Deciding it was best to move on instead of signing him to a supermax long-term contract, the Sacramento Kings reportedly traded All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and a pair of picks.
With the trade, the Kings and Cousins end a long, dysfunctional relationship which became exacerbated at times due to the franchiseâs decisions and the All-Starâs attitude. And while currently the trade seems like a clear loss for the Kings, the teamâs play-by-play man Grant Napear is overjoyed by the deal.
Taking to Twitter to heavily criticize Couins, Napear called the trade a âno brainerâ and said the âdark cloudâ hanging over the Kings is finally gone.
Trading DMC was an absolute no brainer! There has been a dark cloud over this franchise for years! That cloud is now gone!
â Grant Napear (@GrantNapearshow) February 20, 2017
The Kings were never going to win with Cousins. NEVER! This was a no brainer! I wish him well! I really do but it was time!
â Grant Napear (@GrantNapearshow) February 20, 2017
The Sacramento Kings just became a team again! Its time to move into the future! It's time to start winning! This gives them the best chance
â Grant Napear (@GrantNapearshow) February 20, 2017
And here's maybe the most important thing. Most of Cousin's teammates the past 7 years hated playing with him! That is a fact!
â Grant Napear (@GrantNapearshow) February 20, 2017
Tell us how you really feel Grant!
As Ball Donât Lieâs Kelly Dwyer pointed out, this isnât the first time Napear has criticized Cousins. Back in 2013, Cousins confronted Napear after a game because the play-by-play man disparaged the Kings big man on his radio show.
Napear also criticized Cousins on his radio show last season. From a Celtics Blog forum:
âThe Kings are gonna have another bad season this year, and in my opinion, heâs largely responsible for it. Heâs largely responsible for it because his teammates just flat-out get sick of it. They donât want to deal with it. He sucks the air out of the locker room. Disrespectful to your superiors, disrespectful to authoritative figures, itâs flat-out wrong. Now, I donât know about you, okay â Iâve seen six years of it, and Iâve seen enough, okay? But Iâm not â I donât make the decisions about this organization. I have a talk show, and I announce the games. Alright? These decisions are way above my head. Thatâs not what I do.
âWhat I am saying, though, is â does this community want to move into a brand new, iconic, phenomenal building with a clean slate, or do they want the slate muddied before they even walk into the door? Does anyone think that DMC is not going to be doing the same stuff next year? Why would we think that after six years of immature, disgraceful, embarrassing behavior, that just because weâre moving into a new building, that everythingâs gonna be fine and dandy?â
Napear is clearly happy that Cousins is gone, but the way he expressed his jubilation likely will only motivate Cousins even more when the Pelicans play the Kings in the future.
