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In mid-February, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report reported talks between the Magic and Kings involving DeMarcus Cousins, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier:

Multiple league sources say the Magic turned down the chance to deal Nikola Vucevic and either Evan Fournier or draft picks to the Kings for the contemptuous All-Star center earlier this season. Hennigan apparently was concerned about both his ability to re-sign Cousins this summer and building the franchise around yet another high-maintenance big man.

That report didn’t gain much traction, because the Kings kept insisting they wouldn’t trade Cousins. Of course, they dealt him to the Pelicans a few days later.

With the Magic firing general manager Rob Hennigan and assistant general manager Scott Perry today, that unearthed more information about Orlando-Sacramento trade talks.

Marc J. Spears of ESPN:

Confused by the Scott Perry ousting. Different mind. Different voice. Most experience out of everyone there. He would've done Cousins trade. https://t.co/TXSOVRpXHh — Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) April 13, 2017

Sam Amick of USA Today:

Don't understand this. Scott is widely respected w/ experience in Seattle, Detroit, great relationships, different voice/style from Hennigan https://t.co/ZS58wczSuS — Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 13, 2017

As @MarcJSpearsESPN noted, Magic would have had DeMarcus if not for Hennigan's concerns. Scott wanted him, was confident he could connect. — Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 13, 2017

The Pelicans taking a risk on Cousins made sense because their supporting cast around Anthony Davis was so crummy, there wasn’t much downside. The Magic’s lousy roster would have made a Cousins trade similarly logical.

Hennigan stuck with the “safe” route. Look where that got him.

Not trading for Cousins due to the fear of him walking in free agency next year is reasonable. Not trading for Cousins because he’s similar to Dwight Howard is not reasonable. Cousins should stand on his own merits.

Should Hennigan have made this trade? It’s impossible to say for certain without knowing all the particulars, but that his No. 2, Perry, found the terms acceptable is telling.