Kings DeMarcus Cousins says playing under the Maloofs felt like an AAU team

Sacramento Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins has had an up-and-down first three years in the NBA. But fresh off of his new contract extension and a new ownership group with the Kings, Cousins is opening up about what the last few years with the Kings was like under the Maloof ownership.

“It felt like an AAU team. Everything [critics] were saying before, I believe it’s true. We were the worst. We weren’t building for the future, we were just living in the moment. That’s why we were that bad. … Honestly, I feel like I wasted time. I hate the fact that it took everything we went through to get to this. I guess you could say it makes that much better.”

With Shaq as part of the new ownership group, he’s also going to enact his favorite role, being big brother/mentor to DeMarcus. All that new energy could mean great things for Boogie and the franchise.