DeMarcus Cousins, still a free agent, says he wants reunion with Kings

Four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has been vocal about his desire to return to the league, now he’s sending a clear message to the Sacramento Kings specifically.

“Would love to help get Sac back to the playoffs,” he wrote on Twitter, in response to SacTown Sports 1140 host Carmichael Dave.

Cousins dominated the paint for Sacramento in his prime and remains on the market as a free agent.

Currently 3-6, four of the Kings’ six losses have been by five or less points. Adding a center to back up two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis is an interesting idea to help the Kings secure those extra points.

Could Cousins be the push that Sacramento needs to make their first playoff appearance since 2006?

The 32-year-old is five years removed from his time with the Kings and went on to play for New Orleans, Golden State, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee and Denver.

With his name becoming almost synonymous with ejections and technicals at one point, Cousins is aware his reputation and relationship with the Kings are far from perfect.

"Have I made mistakes? Absolutely," Cousins told Yahoo Sports in October. "Have I done things the wrong way? Absolutely. For that, I'm very apologetic. But I've done even more things the correct way and I've done even more positive things compared to my negatives. I just don't want those positives to be overlooked."

Though Cousins is amenable to returning to the Kings, he did go on the record with Andscape's Marc Spears in May to speak less than positively about his time with the Sacramento franchise, while maintaining that he has "a lot of love for the city."

"What did Sac do for me," Cousins told Spears. "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. 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."

Cousins bumped heads with former Sacramento coach George Karl in 2015. Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, however, have great things to say about Cousins as a teammate and personality.

Cousins told Yahoo Sports that he works out daily to be ready for a comeback, and he has proven that he can be efficient in limited time off the bench.

With De'Aaron Fox playing at an All-Star level, joined by former Laker Malik Monk, Cousins would add even more University of Kentucky presence to a team that is undergoing a culture overhaul under a new coach that Cousins has worked with positively in Mike Brown.