DeMarcus Cousins exited Sacramento more than six months ago and his new team, the New Orleans Pelicans, has its own set of challenges. However, the ultra-talented center recently reflected on his time with the Kings prior to his first game in Sacramento since the trade. In short, he told Marc Spears of ESPN that there were some regrets.
Cousins opened up on what he deems as his “biggest regret” in simply staying in Sacramento for too long.
“My biggest regret is … why didn’t I leave when I had the chance?”
“I had the chance, but I fought it. I wanted to give it a chance. My representatives they told me I shouldn’t stay. You know, being I guess you can say stubborn and ‘loyal,’ I wanted to make things work.”
The former Kentucky standout also responded to a prompt about the arrival of George Karl, doubling down on the notion that he should have fled before that relationship even began. Lastly, Cousins also referred to himself as “a fool” for buying into the loyalty aspect and leaning into the narrative surrounding his exit.
“All last year, I felt like that’s all it was about. I got traded, and ‘he hates Sacramento,’ and that kind of fed into it. At the end of the day, it’s a business. I kind of blame myself for even putting myself at that point. You knew coming in this was a business. How are you gonna be loyal to someone that ain’t loyal to any player that’s ever played this game? I was a fool.”
In many ways, it is intriguing to hear self-reflection from Cousins, especially in light of the fact that his trade value was famously low when moving from Sacramento to New Orleans. Everyone agrees that he is an off-the-charts talent but self-awareness and deportment have always been question marks for the All-Star big man and a window into his thinking reveals quite a bit about his mindset, both now and in the past.
Cousins is unquestionably in a more high-upside situation from a basketball standpoint in New Orleans but the jury remains out as to whether that situation, and the pairing with Anthony Davis, will work out in the end.
