NBA Trade Rumors: DeMarcus Cousins Deal Close For Sacramento Kings?

NBA trade rumors about DeMarcus Cousins may have just come to a screeching halt. Suddenly, Cousins may be close to signing a long-term contract extension with the Sacramento Kings. A report by NBA analyst Andy Furillo now asks if the Kings are willing to give Cousins a $200 million contract.

For a number of years, there have been various NBA trade rumors about DeMarcus Cousins getting dealt to a contender. Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics routinely surfaced as possible destinations for the All-Star center. Even this year, as the Kings have struggled in the Western Conference, trade chatter about Cousins has come up again. There was also a point where the Kings were openly listening to trade offers.

Now, the unthinkable may be happening. As the Sacramento Bee has reported, it’s possible that the turbulent relationship between Cousins and the Kings may go on a bit longer.

“The Kings story of the week is that they are thinking about offering a five-year, $200 million contract extension to a player who has been the centerpiece of 6 1/2 years of losing basketball.”

There are several ways to look at this new situation, beginning with how talented Cousins is at basketball. He is still one of the best big men in the game, with youth on his side as his NBA career continues. He has succeeded quite nicely on a personal level and has made millions of dollars doing it. The problem is that he has found zero team success and is part of a culture of losing with the Sacramento Kings.

Examining his statistics makes it not only obvious why NBA trade rumors continue to mention DeMarcus Cousins, but also why the franchise would like to lock him into a long-term contract extension. During the 2016-17 NBA season, Cousins has appeared in 37 games for the Kings. He is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. Those are among the best numbers in the league this season, and he would be in the NBA MVP discussion if the Kings had any success on the floor.

Cousins is still only 26 despite this being his seventh season in the NBA. The former star of the Kentucky Wildcats has continued to improve his game and has now become a three-point threat as well. On the year, he is shooting 38.4 percent from long-range, and this helps spread the floor for the Kings. Now, he might just have the team knocking on the playoff door as the Kings are ninth in the conference and just half a game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 8 seed.

So is DeMarcus Cousins the answer for the Sacramento Kings? As many NBA trade rumors have expressed in the past, teams are willing to offer a lot of young talent and draft picks for the All-Star center. If the front office in Sacramento was determined to deal Cousins before the NBA trade deadline, a high number of suitors would come to the negotiating table. The Portland Trail Blazers with two first-round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft, the struggling New York Knicks, the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers, and the ever interested Boston Celtics would be calling night and day.

So what exactly is going to take place with the situation between Cousins and the Kings? At this point, though, have the fans in Sacramento had enough of his antics on the court and in the locker room? NBA analysts don’t agree on the best course of action for the franchise, but it would certainly make headlines if a blockbuster trade sent him to a new team, and he got to participate in the NBA Playoffs. Is it time for the franchise to simply succumb to the NBA trade rumors, deal Cousins for a lot of assets, and take the team in a new direction?

[Featured Image Tom Pennington/Getty Images]