SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- When the Sacramento Kings scattered for the All-Star break, the players were looking forward to the fresh start that would come Thursday with the start of the season's unofficial second half, as well as the possibility of trying to end the franchise's 10-year playoff drought.
They had no idea they'd be christening a new era.
Life without foward DeMarcus Cousins begins for the Kings on Thursday when they host the Denver Nuggets at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings ended their nearly seven-year relationship with the big man Sunday, trading him to the New Orleans Pelicans for guards Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and Tyreke Evans.