Vlade Divac on DeMarcus Cousins trade: ‘Winning begins with culture and character matters’

Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac took a parting shot at his former player in a statement about the Demarcus Cousins trade Monday.

The deal, broke Sunday night by none other than Adrian Wojnarowski, sent Cousins and Omiri Casspi to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for a couple draft picks, Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans and Langston Galloway.

Officially commenting on the trade Monday afternoon, Divac thanked Cousins for his time in Sacramento but made some pointed remarks that will surely rankle the enigmatic star.

The key phrase here that stood out the most is when Divac said, “Winning begins with culture and character matters.”

Clearly, the Kings grew weary of Cousins’ antics over the years. Among them included countless bouts with ex-head coach George Karl and a nightclub incident in New York in which Cousins’ brother was said to be involved in an assault that also resulted in Matt Barnes getting into some hot water (more on that here) and Cousins going ballistic on a writer in the locker room.

Interestingly, it appears the Kings had a better offer a couple days earlier and didn’t pull the trigger.

That Cousins is supremely talented has never been a question that needs to be answered. In fact, the big man was having his finest season to date for Sacramento, averaging 27.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.

Unfortunately, he all too often failed to comport himself in a manner that reflected well upon the organization. This is something that ultimately led to the Kings shipping him away for pennies on the dollar, even if one of the players they got in return does indeed turn out to be a Stephen Curry clone, as owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly believes he can be.