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Sacramento Kings: 5 Trade Partners For DeMarcus Cousins

By Gerald 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 3, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) controls the ball against New York Knicks center Cole Aldrich (45) and New York Knicks power forward Jason Smith (14) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. The Kings defeated the Knicks 124-86. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

5. New York Knicks

According to Woj’s report, neither Karl nor Ranadive would be interested in a trade that doesn’t haul in some established, veteran players. They’re not looking to stockpile draft picks with the Kings moving to a new arena soon, so a full-scale rebuild doesn’t interest Ranadive. From Karl’s perspective, he’s closing in on the NBA’s all-time win record, so he doesn’t want to start from the ground up either.

From the New York Knicks‘ perspective, they have a trade in their back pocket that could seal the deal. It’s messy, it’s scary and it would involve betraying the current face of the franchise. That’s right, New Yorkers. If you want a shot at Boogie, you’re going to have to part ways with Carmelo Anthony.

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This would be a risky endeavor for Sacramento. Melo is already 31 years old, he’s on a MEGA five-year, $124 million contract that extends over the next four years and he’s coming off knee surgery to repair his patellar tendon. If I’m a Kings fan, I’m sadly shaking my head right now, praying this offer never sees the light of day.

From the Knicks’ perspective, this is a slam dunk. Melo is vastly misunderstood and underrated as a once-in-a-generation scorer who never had the luxury of playing with the same caliber of teammates that the man he is always compared to — LeBron James — had the pleasure of playing with. But Boogie is younger and therefore has a higher ceiling than Melo’s twilight years…at a fraction of the cost.

Ranadive would get his star, probably the best player on the table out of all these hypothetical scenarios. But there’s one complication: a George Karl-Carmelo Anthony reunion seems about as likely as it is that the Kings aren’t screwing themselves with this whole potential Cousins trade, so perhaps this won’t happen after all. Moving on.

Next: No. 4