When the Sacramento Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans, Kings General Manager Vlade Divac insisted that he alone made the decision. He denied any involvement from ownership. Vlade told reporters “I'm responsible for making decisions in the basketball operations, and I did it." But this narrative quickly falls apart, to the surprise of nobody.
In an extensive article on the infighting of the Buss family, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reveals details of the trade negotiations between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Kings.
We could wonder what might have been if the Kings could have exercised patience. Would the Lakers have included Brandon Ingram and a package of draft picks? We’ll never know, because Vlade Divac didn’t have the luxury of patience.
Forcing the GM to negotiate in haste because he has no idea how long it will be before you again declare DeMarcus untradeable is a surefire path to failure. Ownership only approving trades if specific players are being acquired? Another recipe for failure.
There is no point having a GM, assistant GMs, scouts, and the rest of the support staff if the acceptable return for a trade is being dictated by the owner who clearly has no understanding of how to run a successful NBA team.
In the aftermath of the trade, the Kings are in a good position for a rebuild. They’ll likely have two top-10 picks in a loaded draft, own their own pick next year, and have an assortment of promising young players. But it’s difficult to get excited about the organization’s ability to execute a rebuild as long as Vivek remains overly involved.
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