neither team was going anywhere as it was. they had to do something. the only bad move would have been to make no move at all.

for NOP, if it doesn't work out with Cousins they cut their losses and don't re-sign him. no harm done - again, they were bad as it was - still have Brow to build around. the upside, otoh, is off the charts if Cousins works out.

for Sacto, they get rid of a guy who in 6 years(7?) had lead them to 30+ wins only one time. they simply weren't going anywhere but perpetual lottery with Cousins. now they have two potential lottery picks and a guy in Buddy Hield that may figure it out and become a very good SG in the league. a chance to start over and rebuild. granted their front office sucks, so they will likely fail, but again, no harm, no foul.

bottom line - there just wasn't much risk involved for either team.