DeMarcus Cousins Says Kings Treated Him Like 'Piece of Cattle' in Pelicans Trade

New Orleans Pelicans big man DeMarcus Cousins will face the Sacramento Kings on Friday in his first matchup against the team that drafted him in 2010 and traded him earlier this season.

There may be some added tension given what he told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated when asked how he would have responded if the Kings were more open about their desire to trade him: "Of course, I would've been mad. But I still would have respected it. Come to me like a man. I'm a human being at the end of the day. Don't treat me like a f—ing piece of cattle."

Prior to the trade, Kings general manager Vlade Divac said the team wouldn't move Cousins, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

What's more, Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix of The Vertical reported Sacramento promised Cousins "privately and publicly" it wouldn't trade him.  

Although he clearly wasn't pleased with how the trade was handled, Cousins can at least take solace his Pelicans (32-43) are better than the Kings (29-46) in the standings.