Why DeMarcus Cousins For No. 2 Pick Makes Sense

The time couldn’t be more perfect.

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Should someone from the Sacramento Kings ownership wise up and listened to my idea?

On the Sirius XM NBA Radio show Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac said this:

"“Of course everyone has their own opinion, but if we’re talking about today DeMarcus Cousins is untradeable. He’s a guy who we’re going to try to build around and see where he can take us."

However, there are reports saying that the Los Angeles Lakers are willing to trade away the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft for an All-Star veteran, Cousins fits the bill.

The question is would you rather have a rookie who’s not ready to make an impact immediately and who may never develop into a great player in the league, or Cousins proven All-Star, All-NBA caliber talent?

The idea couldn’t be a better thought. Get Cousins out of Sacramento and get a lot of talent in exchange for his production. If the Kings want to get aggressive they could also request the Los Angeles Lakers other first round pick (No. 27) and it wouldn’t be considered a steal. However, that No. 27 pick could get used as a selling point to trade for Cousins as well.

The Kings could say that the Lakers would still have a first-round pick even after trading for Cousins.

Don’t let it be a surprise, but Jahlil Okafor should and most likely will become the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft which will leave Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell available to the Lakers.

The Kings are still in rebuilding mode and could finally walk away from draft day as winners. The ghost of trading for Jimmer Fredette over attempting to get Klay Thompson who got picked at No. 11 is still haunting this franchise.

Small market teams don’t get free agents and the draft is the key to their success.

Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Justise Winslow (12) shoots over Wisconsin Badgers guard Bronson Koenig (24) in the first half in the 2015 NCAA Men /

The Kings could walk away with core group of young talent in Karl-Anthony Towns and Justise Winslow, each home run can’t miss prospects to help build a championship caliber team around.

The Lakers on the other hand get a workhorse center in Cousins who’s going to go to war against Anthony Davis for the next ten years for the title of the best big man in the league.

At 24 years old, Cousins can boast that his stat line of 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game will get much more praise if he’s doing it play for the purple and gold. What’s even better for the Lakers is that he’s only commanding a salary of $16.4 million a year until the end of the 2017-18 season.

For the Lakers it also means that the pairing between Cousins and Julius Randle is one that will be looked upon with envy in the coming era. Their games are yet so similar and yet so different that the pairing between the two could become special. Picture a young Pitbull Randle playing the role of Zach Randolph and Cousins as Marc Gasol.

April 5, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Sleep Train Arena. The Jazz defeated the Kings 101-95. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Speaking of Gasol, the Lakers wouldn’t need to attempt to sign Gasol in free agency and could save themselves money because they’d have a younger, much cheaper version and one who’s ceiling is that of a future hall of famer.

The Lakers would have the second best center in the league and wouldn’t have to wait another two to four years to wait to win again. How many more pieces would you need on a team that has Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, DeMarcus Cousins potentially Jimmy Butler?

If the Chicago Bulls don’t max out Butler then the Lakers are throwing everything and the kitchen sink to get him to play in Los Angeles.

With seven unrestricted free agents the Lakers would still have enough cap space to sign Corey Brewer and Gerald Green to decent contracts to come off the bench. Another low-key good signing would be bringing in Omri Casspi.

Not only is Casspi one of Cousins’ dear teammates but he’s also a budding young player in the league whose value will show more when he gets more playing time. Casspi just came off of a year averaging 8.9 points per game shooting 48 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the three-point line.

What no one’s talking about and should is that if the Lakers strike out with Butler and still manage to trade for Cousins and bring in a few quality free agents they will still be in competition to become a great team because they’ll have a lot of free salary.

Let’s say the worst case scenario is that the Lakers traded for Cousins and still find themselves in the lottery next year. Kobe Bryant’s contract at that point will come off the books and they can sign him to an extension (if he doesn’t retire) and give him a Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki-esque deal to extend his career.

The Lakers will still have a talented lottery pick coming their way. More importantly they’ll also have more than enough money to sign Kevin Durant in 2016.

Let’s not look too far down the road.

Let’s just see if the Lakers have the stones to trade for Cousins though.

Next: SEC: New York Knicks Could You Hurry Up & Pick Karl-Anthony Towns No. 4?

Why DeMarcus Cousins For No. 2 Pick Makes Sense

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau | Jun 4, 2015

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