NEW ORLEANS — In a blockbuster deal that came with dramatic timing, the New Orleans Pelicans landed DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi from the Sacramento Kings Sunday for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and a first and second round pick in 2017, according to a person familiar with the trade.

The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been announced.

"He's a great player, dominant in this league, of course, with all the numbers he put up,” Davis said. “But I haven't heard anything. So I'm going to let the management, once again, do what they do, and when the time is right, the'll come talk to me about it. Of course, DeMarcus is an elite player in this league.”

And with that, the Kings made a shocking pick on their future as they neared a free agency fork in the road this summer.

For months, the notion of Cousins eventually signing a five-year, $207 million deal as the Kings' 'designated player' this summer was widely considered a foregone conclusion.

Even with the struggles of the past six-plus seasons, with the Kings having never won more than 33 games since Cousins was drafted fifth overall out of Kentucky, he spoke openly of his desire to stay in Sacramento. Instead, the deal that would send him closer to his hometown of Mobile, Ala. got done while Pelicans star and fellow Kentucky alum Anthony Davis was starring in the All-Star game and Cousins (who played just two minutes) was, in essence, waiting to be handed his new Pelicans jersey.

The scene afterward was surreal, with Kings officials informing Cousins of the development as he sat down to talk with reporters and Davis being asked about being paired with Cousins in his news conference.

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