Right before the NBA trade deadline, All-Star center Demarcus Cousins was sent to New Orleans to pair with his fellow All-Star Anthony Davis in a deal for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, and a protected first round pick. On paper, this could be the best front court duo the NBA has ever seen, and we’ve seen pairs such as Tim Duncan and David Robinson, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, and Griffin with Deandre Jordan.
Many of these front courts were exceptional, but theoretically, none of them have the potential that a Brow and Boogie front court could have. This season, Cousins is averaging 23.3 points per game, 13 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. Anthony Davis is averaging 28.2 points per game, 11.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and an astounding 2.4 blocks per game. With their averages put together, that’s about 51 points, 24 rebounds, 6 assist, 4 steals, and almost 5 blocks per game. With this kind of production coming from just two players, the Pelicans should be a force to reckon with in the West.

Although the potential of this duo has casual fans and analysts drooling alike, we haven’t seen any positive results from this brand new pairing. The two players have yet to win a game since their pairing, and Anthony Davis has been at his best when him and Cousins aren’t sharing the floor together. In fact, Davis exploded for 33 points and 14 rebounds in their win over the Detroit Pistons, when Cousins was on a one game suspension because he has received his league leading 18th technical foul of the season.

This has the sports universe thinking, who won the Demarcus Cousins trade? You would think that it would be the Pelicans, as they acquired arguably the best big man in the league for peanuts. The results of this trade so far haven’t been good. Davis and Cousins are players that play very similarly, in that they are two-way bigs who are able to stretch out the court in and out with exceptional post play as well as a perimeter shot. Cousins, who could miss more games due to his tendency to pick up technical fouls, could be more of a problem than an asset to the Pelicans. Cousins, who’s contract is up after the 2018 season, could even wind up leaving New Orleans for nothing if there aren’t any results. Sacramento, who is a terrible team now, is setting themselves up for the future. They have a relatively young core and can look to build around Hield, who was one of the best college players in Oklahoma last year, and their draft pick, who will be in the top 10 in a loaded draft.

The Kings realized that having Demarcus Cousins would not help them currently or in the future. He is in the prime of his career toiling away for a team that is consistently in the bottom of the standings and did not have a clear direction. The Kings general manager, Vlade Divac, might have made the right move in the long term, as with no clear star player, they could accumulate more assets that would lead to a more well-rounded team.

Mitchell Prescott, a junior, commented, “I think that the Pelicans definitely won this trade, as they received a top 5 player in the league for nothing at all. And he isn’t even on an expiring deal. Nice job by the Pelicans.”

Currently, the Pelicans are the winner of this trade as they acquired a top 10 player for very little, and are able to compete in the playoffs. However, depending on how Boogie’s 2018 free agency goes and the amount of success the Pelicans have, the Sacramento Kings could come away as the winner of this trade.