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Sacramento Kings: 5 Trade Partners For DeMarcus Cousins

ByGerald Bourguet|
Mar 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to an officials call in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 114-107. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to an officials call in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 114-107. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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DeMarcus Cousins
Mar 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to an officials call in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 114-107. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Pretty much every Sacramento Kings article I’ve ever written has started with the following apology, and this one will be no different: My apologies, Sacramento Kings fans. You deserve better than this.

In case you’re still getting up to speed here, last night, while most of the world was sleeping, NBA Twitter ignited after a Woj bomb lit the joint up. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Kings head coach George Karl is putting together his own little campaign within to organization to convince owner Vivek Ranadive to part ways with All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins via trade.

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That’s right folks, the infamous head coach who has consistently clashed with star players and is as well-known for his first round playoff exits as he is for his impressive number of career wins is once again trying to shop the face of the franchise. You know, the one who just so happened to average 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 steals per game — ALL career highs.

Per Basketball-Reference, the only players in NBA history to put up a 24-12-3-1-1 stat line over the course of a season are Boogie, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett, David Robinson and Bob McAdoo. Considering those guys are all in/going to be in the Hall of Fame…yeah, this is a pretty stupid conversation.

According to Woj’s report, Ranadive is not yet on board with Karl’s superstar witch hunt, so there’s still hope that the Kings will choose their top-10 player over a coach who seems to have forgotten the value of a top-10 player.

But in the event Karl is able to sway the rest of the front office, especially now that this Boogie’s feelings toward this irreparable player-coach relationship could begin to extend toward management, we have to do our due diligence.

It’s time to dive into the misery with a look at the top five potential trade partners in the event of a DeMarcus Cousins trade, both in terms of likelihood and the value of the return.

Honorable Mentions: Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards

Next: No. 5