Ex-Sacramento Kings Owner Gavin Maloof: I Never Woulda Traded DeMarcus Cousins!

The Sacramento Kings made a tremendous mistake getting rid of DeMarcus Cousins and it's gonna take 'em a long time to recover ... so says the team's former owner Gavin Maloof.

Maloof -- who co-owned the Kings with his brothers until 2013 -- was in L.A. with his GF, Katherine, when we asked if he would have pulled the trigger to ship Boogie to New Orleans if he was still in charge.

"No. No way ... No way ... No way."

Maloof said time will tell if the team made the right call -- but points out they "didn't get much in return" for Cousins and predicts, "It's gonna take 'em a long time to rebuild."

There's more ... Maloof has moved on to owning another pro sports team -- the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the new NHL expansion team.

He's pumped about sharing the town with the Raiders but explains why moving an NBA team to Sin City would be a mistake.