DeMarcus Cousins prepares to face Kings with 'Loyalty' on his mind

METAIRIE, La. -- DeMarcus Cousins, wearing a hat and hooded sweatshirt with the word "Loyalty" printed on the front of each, went into Beast Mode when he was asked about his meeting Friday with the Sacramento Kings, the team he spent six-plus seasons with before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicansover this year's All-Star Weekend.

"Just go in, play hard and try to get a win," he said, echoing similar phrases for the first five questions posed by reporters on Thursday at the Pelicans' practice facility.

But the big smile on Cousins' face said otherwise. As did those around him.

"I definitely think y'all should have y'all popcorn ready," Pelicans guard Jordan Crawford said. "For sure. I definitely think that he's hype. We'll just leave it at that."

Said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry: "I guarantee the guy that leaves Apple and goes to Microsoft, he wants to kick their ass, too. That's just the way it is."

Cousins, 26, eventually broke his cadence when asked about the relationships he built within the Sacramento community, including with several former teammates he still keeps in close contact with.

The three-time All-Star told The Undefeated that he has 25 people from Sacramento coming into town for Friday's game, including Kings minority owners. He plans to attend dinner with them Thursday and has arranged a suite for them at the Smoothie King Center for the game.

"I don't have any personal hate for anybody there," Cousins said. "At the end of the day, this is a business. These type of things happen. I just roll with the punches.

"I enjoyed my time there. The people of the city were good to me. I've had incredible teammates throughout the years there. I'm good. No personal hate for anybody."

Cousins, a native of nearby Mobile, Alabama, said it took some time to settle into his new reality. But he said he "loves it" in New Orleans and that Pelicans fans, teammates and employees have made the transition a smooth one.

"It was more how everything happens ... plus, on top of all that, it just so happened to be Mardi Gras," Cousins said with a laugh. "Everything was like 100 miles per hour for me. It's a lot calmer now for me. I've been able to just sit back and let my hair down."

Asked if he enjoyed Mardi Gras, Cousins responded, "Did you see the pictures?"

Cousins, who along with Anthony Davis was named an honorary grand marshal of the Zulu parade, rode on a float on Mardi Gras day and was photographed wearing women's underwear on his head and holding an oversized stuffed alligator in his hand.

"Let's just say I fit right in," he said.

The Pelicans will also be facing three former teammates -- Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and Buddy Hield -- whom they traded to Sacramento along with 2017 first- and second-round draft picks for Cousins and Omri Casspi.

Gentry said he still keeps in touch with Hield via text message and said that Evans, a key figure in the Pelicans' surge into the 2015 postseason, had a "profound impact on this franchise when healthy."

"I want those guys to do well," Gentry said. "I'm not going to be pulling against those guys. I like them as people. I like all of them as people. Langston is truly one of the high-character guys that you'll ever meet. Tyreke is a really good guy that likes to play the game. And then Buddy, I thought, was making progress.

"But if you're going to get a player of DeMarcus' stature, then you're going to have to give up something."

The Kings have a record of 5-13 since the trade, while the Pelicans are 9-9, including wins in seven of their past nine games.

Ahead of Friday's game, Gentry said he spoke to Cousins about letting his performance speak for itself. But the veteran coach, who has previously served as a head coach or assistant on seven different NBA franchises, also acknowledged that facing a former team is something everyone in the league looks forward to.

"I think guys are kidding themselves when they say it's just another game," Gentry said. "It's never just another game. It's just like coaches -- when you get fired from another team and you play them, you want to beat that team. It's not like when you play somebody else. It's just human nature."

The Undefeated's Marc Spears contributed to this report.