SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento Kings stunned the NBA world on Sunday went they sent three-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans. Now they have a roster filled with veterans that aren't quite sure what the next 24 hours hold.
Players are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will Vlade Divac and his staff stand pat, giving veteran players like Darren Collison, Anthony Tolliver, Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson, Garrett Temple and Kosta Koufos a chance to prove that this team can still compete? Or is this a fire sale situation where no one is left standing when the clock strikes 12 pm PST Thursday afternoon.
"There's really nothing you can do about anything," Collison said Tuesday evening. "If your franchise player gets traded, what does that say about everybody else?"
Collison was emotional. He is married and has a young son in school. They have made Sacramento their home and the veteran point guard has kept open the option of staying with the Kings when his contract ends after the season, even with the major changes that have taken place.
"No question," Collison said when asked if he would consider staying this summer. "I think these fans are unbelievable, you guys (speaking of media) are unbelievable. That's something you don't get everywhere else, you know what I mean. I've been on a few teams and I can honestly say these are some great people. That's what makes it so hard to leave Sacramento."
Before speaking to the media, Collison had already reached out to the Kings front office to see what his future held with the club.
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"As far as I know, I spoke to Vlade, he said he had no plans of trading me," Collison said. "But even before he said that, I'm a little shaken up with the situation with Cuz and Casspi, so we'll see."
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Kings like Collison and would consider re-signing him in the offseason. They also know that another NBA team could make an offer in the nexty day they can't refuse.
With hours remaining before the deadline, Collison is on pins and needles. Players, like everyone else, get caught up in the constant rumors and innuendo floating around on social media and other platforms. The difference is, it is their lives that are being discussed as if they were pawns on a chessboard.
"There's no mechanism of how to work around it, there's no strategy of how to work around trade rumors," Collison said. "Some are just rumors. Some have a little bit of facts to it, but at the end of the day, you'll know when they tell you unfortunately. It's even worse when you have a family."
Collison was very clear that he wants to win. He's not getting any younger and the Kings are clearly shifting gears and going towards a youth movement. But he also would like to stick around Sacramento and see this thing through.
Teams are looking for playmakers and scorers for the stretch run and Collison fits that bill. He's averaging 13.7 points and 4.2 assists in 30.9 minutes per game. He's also shooting 48.1 percent from the field and a career-best 42.1 percent from long range.
After a slow start to the season, including an eight game suspension to open the campaign, Collison is playing his best basketball in the month of February, posting 18.3 points on 44.8 percent shooting from 3-point range. The remaining balance on his $5.2 million salary for this season also makes him an easily moveable trade chip.
This is the ugly side of the NBA life. It's a business, but a business that involves real people and their families. After watching the events of the weekend, nothing is off the table in Sacramento.
