‘Who we play?’ Cousins’ response on facing Kings would make Marshawn Lynch proud. | The Sacramento Bee

If DeMarcus Cousins is excited to play against his former team, he’s not letting on.

Cousins and the New Orleans Pelicans host the Kings on Friday at Smoothie King Center. It will be the first meeting since Sacramento traded Cousins on Feb. 19, just after the NBA All-Star game.

In a media conference, he was asked about Friday’s game.

“Who we play tomorrow?” Cousins joked. Once someone told him it was against the Kings, he feigned surprise. “Damn, for real?”

He then channeled former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, using one quote multiple times to answer questions.

A smiling Cousins said playing against the Kings is an opportunity to “come out, play hard and get a win.” He used the phrase or a variation of it five times.

Putting jokes aside, he elaborated about Sacramento.

“I enjoyed my time there,” Cousins said. “I developed a lot of relationships.

“It’ll be good to see the guys again … laugh a little bit,” he added, speaking about his former Kings teammates.

Some of those teammates are looking forward to seeing Cousins, too.

“I’m going to give him a big hug,” Kings guard Ben McLemore told The Bee’s Matt Kawahara. “It’s going to be strange for a minute. But at the end of the day we’ve got to go out there and play against each other.”

Cousins insisted the game is not about him against the Kings.

“I’m not trying to make it anything personal,” Cousins said. “To come in and try to make it about me, that would be a selfish move on my part.”