Kings Vice President of basketball and franchise operations, Vlade Divac, is now the man in Sacramento after the Denver Nuggets hired former King General Manager Pete D’Alessandro a couple days ago. Divac is now serving as the temporary, or maybe even permanent GM. One of the biggest decisions he’ll be forced to make in the few upcoming months before the NBA season kicks off is the fate of big man DeMarcus Cousins. Rumors have swirled for years now about a trade with Cousins being the centerpiece due to the strained relations between him and the organization. However, recently in an interview with TNT’s David Aldridge, Divac made some strong comments regarding the availability of his franchise center. Aldridge first asked what he thinks about Cousins’ game to which Divac responded with:
“He’s one of the toughest guys in that position. It was very tough for him last year, with three different coaches. That’s why I want to make sure that we try to bring stability. DeMarcus is an All-Star player. And he’s a National Team player. So we want to make sure that we bring the healthy climate so he can be in a winning game. It’s a combination of us doing our job and keeping his development up. It’s a combination.”
Soon after, Aldridge progressed to asking what Divac thinks about the trade rumors revolving around Cousins and joked:
“Well, if it’s Michael Jordan there, I’ll think about it.”
Divac’s interview put all the Cousins trade talk to rest and could’ve been a subliminal message to all potential suitors. The Kings have lacked stability for quite some time now, but Divac committing to the talents of DeMarcus Cousins sure is an encouraging sign moving forward, and could be the start of a fresh, new era in Sacramento.
