NEW ORLEANS _ DeMarcus Cousins isn't to blame anymore.
The three-time All-Star was an easy target for criticism as the Kings failed to reach the postseason in his six-plus seasons in Sacramento, but now that he's headed to New Orleans along with Omri Casspi in a trade for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and two draft picks, the Kings are expected to unload more veterans and go into full tank mode.
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday and Darren Collison, Arron Afflalo, Kosta Koufos and Ben McLemore are among players who could also be sent packing soon as general manager Vlade Divac has to put together a vision for the team.
The vision does not include veteran forward Matt Barnes, who was waived by the team Monday.
Really, no veteran is safe considering Cousins had been told by the team he wouldn't be traded.
The Kings were criticized in the wake of Sunday's deal for not getting enough for a three-time All-Star in his prime, and there are questions as to whether Divac has the experience and savvy to guide the Kings through the latest version of the Kings' rebuilding plan. Others wonder if majority owner Vivek Ranadive will allow his front office to make the moves needed to turn around a franchise that has not qualified for the postseason since 2006.
While the Kings bring back former 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year Evans and add defensive-minded Galloway, Hield, the rookie guard from Oklahoma, is the key player for the Kings in the deal.
No longer will the "Cousins is killing the culture" excuse fly. The attention is back on the front office, one that has been criticized over three different regimes for botching draft picks that would have added the talent to win around Cousins.
The Kings' previous moves under Divac have largely been about getting the Kings into the playoffs. The likely moves made now are to guarantee the Kings finish as close to the bottom of the standings as possible to improve the team's draft status.
Getting rid of more veterans will help the Kings keep their top-10 protected draft pick. And if the Pelicans don't make the playoffs with Cousins teaming up with All-Star forward Anthony Davis, the Kings could have two lottery picks in a loaded draft.
But it's not that simple.
The Kings last year traded Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and Nik Stauskas to Philadelphia in a salary dump to create the cash for free agency. The Kings also gave Philadelphia the right to swap draft picks with the Kings for two years, so if the Kings' pick is higher than Philly's this year, the 76ers will swap picks.
After last summer's draft, the Kings had a surplus of big men.
Now they have a collection of shooting guards. Sacramento drafted Malachi Richardson last June and acquired the draft rights to Serbian guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who the team plans to sign this summer.
The Kings acquired Bogdanovic in draft-day deal with Phoenix in part because the team believed it could make the playoffs this season and would lose its draft pick.
The Kings can add Hield, the sixth pick in last year's draft, to the mix while exploring options to deal guards like Afflalo, McLemore or Garrett Temple.
There much to sort out between now and Thursday.
