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NBA Trade Rumors: DeMarcus Cousins Could Be A Target For The Boston Celtics, But They May Not Close The Deal Until Later Next Season

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 14:08 PST, Jul 22, 2016

The NBA trade rumors are heating up for the Boston Celtics, who are reportedly getting serious about a move to land DeMarcus Cousins from the Sacramento Kings.

There have been rumors about Cousins leaving the Kings for many, many months now, and with the Kings entering their newest iteration of rebuilding, it seems even more likely that he’ll be gone. The Celtics have a number of assets they could use for a trade, including draft picks and some young players that might be attractive to the Kings as they try to break a decade-long playoff drought.

The Kings had initially been reluctant to talk with the Celtics — or any team, for that matter — about trading Cousins, but that may have changed. Sam Amico of Amico Hoops reported on Thursday that the Kings may have been softening on their stance.

“The Kings have actually been somewhat receptive to the Celtics in more recent conversations,” he wrote.

The Boston Celtics have already been one of the most aggressive teams in the offseason, landing one of the most coveted free agents in former Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford. Rookie Jaylen Brown has also looked sharp so far in summer league play.

After the Sacramento Kings big man spent months on the trading block without any significant progress on a trade, the rumors surrounding DeMarcus Cousins have suddenly heated up during the summer swoon that takes place after the draft and free agency have shaken out.

Cousins has been on shaky terms with the Kings for quite a while now, and his frustration with the organization was on display in the last week after the team traded down from the No. 8 pick to the No. 13 pick to take center Georgios Papagiannis. It’s not exactly a big area of need for the Kings, who already have Cousins along with Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos.

Cousins let the world know that he was perplexed by the pick, saying he didn’t understand the move but that he wasn’t going to make waves.

Earlier in the week, a report claimed that the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers were interested in Cousins and had reached out to the Kings about it.

Reports indicated that the talks between the Kings and Cavaliers aren’t exactly going at a feverish pace, but SB Nation noted that the Cavs may actually have the right pieces to pull it off.

“The belief around the NBA is that the Cavs will look into trading Kevin Love, who is a bad fit for the Cavs, and try to get a player of similar value in return that fits better. Even with Cleveland just winning the NBA Finals, Love has failed to fit while playing alongside Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. It’s going to prove difficult for Love to be traded for a package the Cleveland see fit, but some deal centered around Boogie for Love could work.”

But the word out of Sacramento appears to be flip-flopping a bit more. After the reports that the Kings were starting to consider Boston’s offer, a new report from NBC Sports claims that the Kings are once again closed to the idea of trading their All-Star center.

But even if the Sacramento Kings decide to hold onto DeMarcus Cousins heading into the season, the rumors about a potential trade likely won’t go away. Cousins is entering the final year of his contract, and it’s expected that he could be back on the trading block as the season goes on and especially as the team approaches the trade deadline.

If the Boston Celtics are still in contention and could still use a big man, the rumors about a potential DeMarcus Cousins trade could come alive again in a few months.

[Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/AP Images]

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