NBA Rumors: Sacramento Kings To Trade DeMarcus Cousins If The Team Struggles
Are the Sacramento Kings going to trade DeMarcus Cousins? That is the question on the minds of Kings’ fans. The Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, even the Cleveland Cavaliers have to be monitoring what the Kings are going to do with Cousins.
ESPN’s Marc Stein recently talked about the Sacramento Kings’ possible intentions for their All-Star center.
“Can’t promise you that the Kings will actually trade Cousins. If you insist on squeezing a firm prediction out of us on this one, as we speak on Oct. 28, I’d have to say he’ll stay.
“Sacramento is determined to make the playoffs this season, or at least a credible playoff run, which somewhat compels the Kings to keep their best player.”
Teams such as the Bulls, Celtics, and Cavaliers are hoping that the Kings struggle early in the season. For each of them, it would bode well, because the Kings may be enticed to blow up the team and start over. And with the talent that is on the Kings’ roster, there are plenty of NBA teams that would love to grab a player from them. Eventually reality may kick in.
The Sacramento Kings not competing for a playoff spot is an unlikely scenario. The Kings are a talented group with Cousins, Rudy Gay, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Ben McLemore. It would make all the sense in the world for them to challenge for a No. 8 seed. Include Kings’ head coach Dave Joerger to the mix, you have a younger head coach with a track record which includes three NBA playoff appearances, and you have a recipe for success. And then comes the questions.
But these are the Sacramento Kings being discussed. The Kings have a history of not living up to expectations. Which is why no one thinks much of the team’s playoff chances.
If the Sacramento Kings flirt with a playoff berth, it would favor the Chicago Bulls. It is the Bulls who coincidentally own the Kings’ first round pick if it is not in the top 10.
One possibility is that the Kings would just miss out on, or barely make the playoffs. Thus surrendering their first round draft to the Bulls. This would be followed by the Bulls making a trade offer to the Kings for DeMarcus Cousins, whom no one believes wants to remain in Sacramento.
Will the Sacramento Kings want to risk losing Cousins to NBA free agency in 2018?
That is a chance many teams make. It is uncertain if the Kings can have that hanging over their franchise, regardless if they are a playoff team or not. All signs point to the Sacramento Kings being forced to trade DeMarcus Cousins at some point.
Again, the Bulls, Celtics, and Cavaliers are all likely watching the Kings’ closely.
Why the Bulls, Celtics, and Cavaliers?
#IsaiahThomas Thinks #DeMarcusCousins Would Be A Great Fit For Celtics https://t.co/FE2PnwZ0fK pic.twitter.com/oepGalm3SC
— Zesty Boston Celtics (@zesty_celtics) October 19, 2016
DeMarcus Cousins will want to play for a winner if he cannot win in Sacramento. Each of those three teams have a winning environment and assets that should make the Kings curious.
The Chicago Bulls have long had an interest in DeMarcus Cousins, which can be dated back to a CSN Chicago report from 2015. After an aggressive three months, the Bulls now have an abundance of attractive players to dangle in front of the Kings.
That includes Jerian Grant, Bobby Portis, Nikola Mirotic, and the newly-acquired Michael Carter-Williams. The Bulls’ recent signing of former Celtics’ guard R.J. Hunter could also make Doug McDermott expendable. A combination of two or three of them can be used by the Bulls in a deal with the Kings.
The Boston Celtics also have an array of talent to offer the Sacramento Kings. And with the early play of rookie Jaylen Brown, the Celtics can tout having a young player with star potential, whom they can offer the Kings in a trade. That is not to mention the draft picks the Celtics have.
There were so many draft picks from the past three years on the Celtics’ preseason roster that they could not keep most of them. They would be smart to offer the Kings some of those assets.
Which big man will be traded first?: DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe or Nerlens Noel
Our writers debate: https://t.co/izRtlbEE6W #Blogtable pic.twitter.com/Zg8YwA0ZFJ
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) October 28, 2016
If the Kings struggle and look to trade DeMarcus Cousins, the Cleveland Cavaliers must be considered the wild card. The Cavaliers want one more star player. And they have two players — one star, the other a potential borderline All-Star to offer the Kings.
Few teams can say that they have a player on Kevin Love’s level to offer in a deal. The Bulls have that with Jimmy Butler, but Butler would not be on the table. Love, on the other hand would be, if it meant getting back DeMarcus Cousins. The other player is Tristian Thompson.
Because Thompson does not a great offensive game, he does not get the credit he deserves. The power forward does all of the little things and is a hellacious rebounder and defensive player. Either Love or Thompson could be offered to the Kings, along with another player and a draft pick.
There is a great chance that this NBA rumor about the Sacramento Kings trading DeMarcus Cousins will fizzle out at some point. If the Kings are in striking distance of the playoffs they will become buyers, not sellers at the trade dealline. Until then, the NBA rumors will only increase in interest, with more details.
[Featured Image by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images]
