Would it be great if the Denver Nuggets could pull off an amazing blockbuster deal to land DeMarcus Cousins?
Of course it would be, but it seems like a bit of a pipe dream.
On Thursday, reports surfaced that the Nuggets were discussing two possible trades with the Sacramento Kings. One was trading disgruntled point guard Ty Lawson for the sixth pick. Sounds great, but the Kings would be giving up a lot for Lawson. The other trade got a lot more people’s attention as it was a deal centered around Cousins, Lawson, Kenneth Faried and probably draft picks from Denver.
This deal would make a ton of sense for the Nuggets. Cousins loves playing for new Nuggets coach Mike Malone. He seems like the only coach, besides maybe John Calipari at Kentucky, to actually have a good relationship with Boogie. It would give Denver the superstar that they haven’t had since Carmelo Anthony. There may be some debate about the stardom of Cousins, but the guy averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game last year.
It would also rid the Nuggets of Lawson and Faried. Both players quit on Brian Shaw last season and rumor has it tried to urge others to do the same. Lawson has made some mistakes on social media, the biggest being talking about wanting to play for the Dallas Mavericks on Instagram, and Faried has voiced wanting out if something big doesn’t happen. This trade would make Denver’s life a lot easier.
But there’s also the root of the problem with the trade. What NBA team will take on two locker room cancers and two guys who are not stars? Both have sizable contracts as well. Faried’s four-year, $50 million deal is about to kick in while Lawson is due to make $25 million over the next two seasons. Not the best bang for your buck for any team.
Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly knows he has to build his team back into a contender. He has to make good, smart trades and draft wisely. Connelly has showed skills on both fronts. He was involved in Kevin Love trade talks during last offseason and did some wheeling and dealing during the draft to land Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris. The Nuggets are very high on both players.
Connelly will have to pull some magic to land Cousins or any other big-name star because of the feelings around the league about a lot Nuggets players. They have come across as quitters and whiners and possibly a little overpaid. Those guys are tough to trade.
The Nuggets may have dance partner in the Kings due to George Karl being the coach, and he has made it known how much he likes Lawson and Faried. But Karl is not making personnel decisions for the Kings, Vlade Divac is the main man now and doesn’t seem to keen on trading for the former Nuggets.
The Nuggets are tired of the same old story in Denver. This team has had its chance and flamed out so a new direction needs to be taken. Connelly is looking for ways to do that through trades or the draft or both. He just has to find someone to bite on one of these deals.
Could it be the Kings? Could it be the New York Knicks? Only time will tell, but the Nuggets front office is trying its hardest to revamp this team into the playoff contender the city of Denver wants.
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