NBA Trade Rumors: 3 Contenders Target DeMarcus Cousins
Three Eastern Conference contenders have inquired about the availability of DeMarcus Cousins. Find out which teams are looking to make a power play!
New ownership, new coach, new point guard; none of it has seemed to matter for the Sacramento Kings. Despite having All-NBA players at point guard and center, and a consistent scorer at small forward, George Karl‘s crew is six games below .500 and looking up at the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
With inconsistency abound, three Eastern Conference contenders have reached out to the Kings about the availability of star center DeMarcus Cousins.
The latest report is one that’s both shocking and expected: Cousins is being pursued by a number of contenders. The 25-year-old is averaging 25.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 3-point field goals made per game, but Sacramento’s inability to win games has many questioning whether or not he can be successful in Sacramento.
According to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops, the Kings have already fielded trade interest from three Eastern Conference contenders: the 14-10 Boston Celtics, 14-8 Chicago Bulls and 14-9 Miami Heat.
"Sacramento Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins has drawn significant trade interest from the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, league sources tell SheridanHoops.Sacramento is listening, but the Kings are in a holding pattern and currently have no plans to make a deal despite sitting in 13th place in the 15-team Western Conference, the sources said."
The Celtics, Bulls and Heat all have attractive trade assets.
Boston has an abundance of depth, but its most attractive trade piece is the unprotected 2016 first-round draft pick it acquired from the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn is currently 7-17, which is the fourth-worst record in the NBA.
Landing a potential top-5 draft pick would be an intriguing return for Cousins, but the value of the selection diminishes every time Brooklyn wins—a significant risk that’s difficult to weigh just 24 games into the season.
The Heat, as Scotto reports, are willing to trade center Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside, who was drafted by the Kings in 2010, leads the league with an overwhelming 4.0 blocks per game—the highest mark since Dikembe Mutombo registered 4.5 in 1995-96.
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If Miami were to offer both Whiteside and rookie Justise Winslow, Sacramento would be inclined to at least consider the offer.
As for Chicago, it’s flush with interior depth and perimeter talent. Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and Joakim Noah are all fighting for playing time down low, and some combination of two could conceivably be available in a potential Cousins trade.
Chicago also has young and developable talent in Doug McDermott, Bobby Portis and Tony Snell, but the true X-Factor could be the availability of former league MVP Derrick Rose.
No deal is imminent, but Cousins is understandably garnering interest around the NBA. He’s in the second season of a four-year deal worth nearly $66 million, which is a bargain given the salary cap’s expected rise to roughly $90 million.
For perspective, Cousins’ base salary ranks No. 7 amongst centers, per Spotrac.com. He projects to drop even lower down the list as players sign under the new salary cap, and he won’t be eligible for free agency until 2018.
An All-NBA Second Team member in 2014-15, Cousins could make one of these borderline contenders a true favorite in 2016 and beyond.