DeMarcus Cousins left the only NBA home he’s known on a private jet Tuesday afternoon.
Before Cousins, an all-NBA center, departed Sacramento for New Orleans, where he was traded Sunday, he left a heartfelt message on his Instagram account for Kings fans he said embraced him as a rookie out of Kentucky seven years ago.
The love Cousins portrayed into what amounted as a goodbye letter to Sacramento — he called Kings fans “family” — would be no surprise to Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who coached the talented and sometimes combustible Cousins for parts of two seasons with the Kings and has repeatedly said he enjoyed their relationship.