Three of the top NBA players have been the subject of NBA trade rumors for a good while now. Though all three are the best players for their respective NBA teams, what would be best for them and those franchises when it comes to all the various trade rumor talks?
The three players possibly on the trade block are DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings, John Wall of the Washington Wizards, and Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. Besides being involved in NBA trade rumors, remember all three also played one season at the University of Kentucky at the collegiate level.
All three players are having quality seasons, beginning with Wall averaging 23.7 points and 9.9 assists per game through the first 29 games of the season on a team that is 15-16 overall. In his past 10 games, Wall is averaging 24 ppg and 10.5 apg.
The Kings need to trade DeMarcus Cousins https://t.co/LmPh7d3r0K
— Bindakat Ba (jp) (@JayPGewel) December 22, 2016
Next is Cousins, who averages 29.1 ppg and 10.4 rebounds per game for the Kings, who have won four of their past five games. Although he is the topic of various NBA trade rumors as of late, Cousins seems to be blocking any of that trade talk when he is on the court for the 14-18 Kings.
Davis never needs to be on the NBA trade block, but then again, the return he could bring to a struggling NBA franchise would be large. Davis is averaging a double-double in points and rebounds with 29.3 ppg and 11.4 rpg. He’s on an NBA team that is well below 0.500 in the standings at 13-21.
If one of the three players on this list won’t be involved in a trade, it will be Davis, but his future contract could become the deciding factor for Davis and the Pelicans. In a recent ESPN NBA article on Davis , Justin Verrier mentioned that possibility.
“With trade season officially open, the Pelicans are coming up on another decision in what figures to be a long, much-parsed game of chess leading into Davis’ third NBA contract.”
The Pelicans will most likely have to pay greatly to keep a player like Davis on their roster for the long term, but that is the price for becoming a contender in the league that has teams built with “super rosters” like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.
As much interest as Davis could draw, Wall and Cousins are possibly even closer to being players in a trade to a different team, or possibly on the same team as they were at Kentucky for one season. Another trade rumor could be Cousins to Boston, as Bill Reiter of CBS Sports mentioned in a recent NBA trade article on Cousins.
“Boston would be a great fit, and with the Nets’ unprotected 2017 first-round pick and either Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart, they have the means to make it happen.”
There needs to be a change of scenery for Cousins, but where he’ll work out the best is a tough call. The Celtics are just one of the potential landing spots, but what about the Wizards with Wall?
Those two played one season together over six years ago at the collegiate level. If Cousins would be traded to the Wizards, he could not only reunite with Wall, but he would play on a better overall team in a conference where it could be easier to reach the playoffs.
Then again, a trade of Cousins to a team like the Celtics would make for more exciting basketball in the East, which makes the NBA better as a whole. A trade of Cousins to the Celtics to play with the likes of Isaiah Thomas and possibly Avery Bradley could be the boost the East needs to make it more competitive.
Boston is on their way to improving their franchise and trading Cousins to the Celtics is very intriguing. The NBA trade rumor machine has brought the idea of having Cousins playing for a team like the 19-14 Celtics to the forefront, and it could make the East much more competitive and exciting, which is always good for the NBA.
[Featured Image by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]
