DeMarcus Cousins Says He Wishes He Would've Skipped Kings Workout Ahead of 2010 Draft

Denver Nuggets center DeMarcus Cousins has had a roller-coaster career, but his biggest regret occurred before he even made it into the NBA.

While speaking to Andscape's Marc J. Spears, Cousins was asked if there were any single decision that he could go back and change in his career, and he responded that he would've skipped his predraft workout with the Sacramento Kings.

"What did Sac do for me? Besides say my name [draft day]. I did more for them than they did for me. That's just being honest. Just being 100 percent honest," Cousins said. "I had two owners, three GMs, seven coaches in seven years. I was there seven years. I had three GMs, two owners and seven coaches. Not much more needs to be said."

The Kings selected Cousins with the fifth overall pick in 2010. He eventually developed into one of the best centers in the league, earning the first of four consecutive trips to the All-Star Game in 2015. He was also named to the All-NBA second team in 2015 and 2016.

The Kings traded Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans in February 2017, and his career briefly blossomed. He opened the 2017-18 season with four games within the first four months with at least 40 points and 20 rebounds before suffering a season-ending torn Achilles that January. Since then, Cousins' career has been mired by various injuries.

Meanwhile, Sacramento has also struggled as one of the perennial bottom-tier teams in the league. The Kings are set to pick in the lottery yet again after finishing 30-52, their 16th straight losing season.

The Nuggets are Cousins' seventh NBA team in his 12-year career. He originally signed with the team on a 10-day contract in January before signing for the rest of the season the following month. Joining Denver reunited Cousins with former Sacramento head coach Michael Malone.

In 31 regular-season games with the Nuggets, Cousins averaged 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game. He recorded a season-high 31 points in just 24 minutes on March 4 in a win over the Houston Rockets.

Denver will take on the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of their first-round series Monday night. Cousins was ejected from Game 1 after picking up two technical fouls as the Nuggets lost 123-107 on Saturday.