Cousins is a free agent in 2018 but because of this new CBA rule, he would have been able to extend his contract with the Kings by five years this upcoming summer. Sacramento could have given Cousins a supermax long-term deal that would have paid him well over
$200 million. Cousins planned on signing that extension this summer, which is a big reason why he repeatedly said he wanted to
remain in Sacramento.
But the Kings apparently didn’t want to give Cousins that long of a contract for that much money, so they traded him to New Orleans. And now Cousins is not eligible to sign a designated-veteran-player contract extension with the Pelicans, since they didn’t draft him and he is no longer on his rookie deal. The Pelicans can only offer Cousins a five-year, $180 million deal, which is about $30 million less than what he could have earned from the Kings if Sacramento didn’t trade him.