NBA Trade Rumors: DeMarcus Cousins To Warriors Or Cavs With Kevin Love, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson Among Options

With the 2016 season approaching, NBA trade rumors are flying furiously as speculation is being made over how teams can improve their chances for the playoffs. Sometimes the rumors make sense, while other times they can simply be debunked on their face. So is DeMarcus Cousins on the move to either the Cavs or Warriors? There’s been some discussion that these two elite level squads could be contending for the big man’s services.

Right now, there are really just two teams competing for the title in the league: the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. Then there’s the rest of the league which is trying to catch up with their own rosters. However, that may not mean the Cavs and Warriors are done trying to bolster their depth of talent. Some of the latest rumors are discussing the potential for one of those teams to make a move for DeMarcus Cousins, and it may actually make more sense for one of the two than the other.

A Sportsrageous article discusses the possible Cousins deal for the teams. First up is the Golden State Warriors, who the site suggests could swap two of their key roster members for the big man. The trade that is proposed would see the champions from two seasons ago giving up both Draymond Green and Kevin Love in exchange for Cousins.

Just on its face, that deal appears to make little sense. However, one would have to think that if adding Durant to the mix with the three other All-Star players in Golden State doesn’t work out, they may shift things around. It would be a major shift bringing in Cousins, but might make sense, depending on how this team is playing together. Klay Thomspon and Green have both emerged as stars alongside Curry, who is a two-time MVP. It’s possible that all four players may have trouble co-existing on the team, and with Thompson’s performance in last year’s playoffs, he certainly could go somewhere in a few seasons.

Love has not had the best playoffs runs in recent memory, although two seasons ago it was due to injury taking him out. More recently, Basketball Reference shows that Love recorded 51 points and 41 rebounds for the entire 2016 NBA Finals, along with eight assists and four steals. He was outscored for the series by teammates Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith and has seemed to slump since joining a team that features stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. A move to another team could certainly help him regain that All-Star form he had when he was the man in Minnesota.

Enter the Sacramento Kings, who certainly will want to get something in exchange for their two stars before they simply leave and sign with another squad. Rudy Gay is one of those stars, and Cousins is the other. Cousins has been a major contributor in Sacramento and why wouldn’t Cleveland want to add him into the mix in place of Love?

As Sportsrageous mentioned, the Cavs could not only send Love to the Kings but also a draft pick. Sacramento will likely be in rebuild mode with their top stars expected to leave for other franchises. They also have a new head coach coming to the scene with former Memphis head coach Dave Joerger, and it may just make more sense to go back to the drawing board. There’s already been plenty of Cousins NBA trade rumors, as reported by the Inquisitr and other sites, speculating on where he might go, but no teams have emerged seriously, just yet.

Cousins averaged great stats for any team that can get him into their lineup. For the most recent season, the six-foot-11 former Kentucky star had 26.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game in over 34 minutes of action a game. At this point, if one were to speculate on which team would be smarter to swap the suggested personnel, the Cleveland Cavaliers just make more sense. They’d have another big man on the front line with Tristan Thompson to help contend with Draymond Green inside. However, both teams seem content right now with the players they have on their rosters, so Cousins may find himself playing for another team trying to catch up with the two favorites this season.

NBA fans, do you think Golden State would ever consider moving Thompson and Green for Love? Would the Cavs be smart to deal Love with a draft pick for Cousins in order to improve their roster?

[Featured Image by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]