DeMarcus Cousins to Pelicans: Twitter Reacts to Trade Involving Buddy Hield

The New Orleans Pelicans flipped the NBA on its axis late Sunday night when they agreed to a deal for Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

The deal—which was agreed upon shortly after the conclusion of the 2017 All-Star Game in New Orleans—will reportedly send Tyreke Evans, Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway, a 2017 first-round pick and 2017 second-round pick to the Kings. 

Combine Cousins' stature as a three-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection and one of the NBA's most dominant big men with the underwhelming return the Kings received in the blockbuster, and Twitter erupted.

On the heels of the breaking news, Cousins' manager, Andrew Rogers, posted a picture from the tarmac in New Orleans: 

The Ringer's Bill Simmons was among the first to chime in with his thoughts on the controversial trade: 

Meanwhile, FiveThirtyEight's Chris Herring expressed sympathy for Kings fans everywhere: 

And considering the Kings have had trouble developing young talent, it was a surprise they doubled down on rebuilding around a player like Hield, as the Washington Post's Tim Bontemps pointed out: 

Then there was HoopsHype's Alex Kennedy, who provided a single image to sum the reaction up: 

However, Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear offered a different perspective: 

Here's a look at the best of the rest: 

"

I don't even think @NBA2K would let that trade happen even with the trade override option off LOL

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) February 20, 2017"

Now wielding arguably the NBA's two best big men, the Pelicans are in position to morph into formidable challengers in the Western Conference if they can string together a late-season run and clinch a postseason berth. 

That won't be easy considering head coach Alvin Gentry will have to adjust on the fly, but the Pelicans are unquestionably primed to evolve into one of the league's more compelling teams as the regular season winds down.