Toronto Raptors: Entering The DeMarcus Cousins Ring

By Joshua Howe | Jun 24, 2015

Mar 7, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) knocks the ball away fro Toronto Raptors forward Patrick Patterson (left) as guard Kyle Lowry (7) looks on during the second half at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Sacramento 99-87. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

If you don’t have Twitter or any other kind of social media, take my word that the Internet was afire yesterday with the news that George Karl wants to rid the Sacramento Kings of DeMarcus Cousins (one of the best centers in the game) in order to snatch up a lot of his former players from the Denver Nuggets.

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First, Cousins tweeted this:

https://twitter.com/boogiecousins/status/613225835365949440

Perfect. It sure doesn’t seem like Boogie is long for the Kings. And if he’s going to force his way out, then teams all over the league are ready to come knocking. One of those teams could very well be the Toronto Raptors, who Masai Ujiri recently said are now open for business.

The Raptors are going to make moves. We know that. But the move that they most desperately need to make is one of the toughest in the league: acquire a superstar.

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Since they had a franchise-best season, Toronto isn’t getting that from the draft. And yet, they aren’t getting anywhere with the squad they’ve got now, either. Which leaves only one option: make a trade for a superstar at all costs, then build around them.

The Raps have lots of good pieces already. But none that are obviously great. Boogie is obviously great. When he plays under control, he’s one of the best 10 players in the league.

Despite the rocky season for the Kings, Cousins had a career year. He put up 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. He shot 46.7 percent from the field, 78.2 percent from the foul line and played merely 34.1 minutes a night.

You don’t find that every day.

One of the proposed trade packages for Cousins is Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas and Toronto’s first-round pick (20th overall).

Though it may seem like a lot to give up to Raptors fans, the truth is that the Kings would very likely want more in return for their talented big man.

Still, this trade is a good starting point and potential building block to a deal. Why?

We know that the Kings are searching desperately for a point guard. They’re trying to move Rudy Gay in order to open up cap space so that they can make a run at Rajon Rondo, who looked to be nothing more than a shell of his former self last season.

The Kings are hoping that Rondo will find a way to return to his old self again if they sign him, but let me bring this terrifying moment back up: I have never, in my entire life, seen a team in the playoffs tell their starting point guard to just stop coming to games like the Mavs did with Rondo.

It was downright embarrassing and the final nail in the “Holy crap, Rondo’s actually THIS bad” coffin.

Who’s better than Ghost Rondo? Why, 2015 All-Star Kyle Lowry of course!

Lowry played poorly in the playoffs, but he was injured and overall he had a very good year. Out of all the trade packages the Kings get offered, Toronto’s might be the only one with a point guard as good as Lowry included.

Sacramento would also be able to instantly replace Cousins with center Jonas Valanciunas, who is still growing as a player but has a lot of potential. He is nowhere near the big man Boogie is, but he’s got a lot going for him and has shown flashes of brilliance.

At the very least, he could be a good asset to save for later moves.

Throw in the 20th pick in a fairly strong draft as a sweetener and Toronto’s deal should at least make Vlade Divac think twice.

The best part of all this is that while Ujiri is a well-known hustler in trade situations, Divac is still quite new to the choppy waters of the offseason. Ujiri’s crazy GM magic might be able to work a few wonders in this sort of situation.

The only major concern that comes to mind with trading for Boogie is his well recorded temperament. Of course, in any situation where that player is also really, really, really good, you risk it.

But here’s the thing: would Dwane Casey be able to handle Cousins?

I’m not so sure he could. In many ways, Casey is a solid coach, but as I’ve stated before, he’s not the guy to take Toronto all the way to the top. We’ve also witnessed his sometimes strange rotations and in-game decision making.

One of the most recent examples would be the Raptors’ flameout against the Wizards in the postseason. Casey hardly ever played James Johnson, one of Toronto’s best defenders, over the course of the series, even when Paul Pierce, who Johnson would’ve matched up well with, was killing the Raps at the 4 spot.

It’s little things like that that could cause tension between a player as good as Boogie and the coach. Start doing strange things with the rotation, draw up plays where Cousins doesn’t get to touch the ball as much, or fail to make the necessary in-game adjustments and tempers (most likely Cousins’) could rev up in seconds.

Still, this is what it all boils down to: Toronto’s initial worry should be about acquiring a star player. Boogie is one. So go for it and do all you have to do to get him. Pull no punches.

Everything else can wait until after you get the star player.

Besides, if I had to choose between Boogie and Casey, I’m picking Boogie every single time. You can always get another good/great coach. That’s the mistake the Kings are making right now if they let Cousins go.

But hey, if Sac-town doesn’t want him then start answering Ujiri’s calls because Toronto’s got a spot all warm and ready for him. That city is tired of being mediocre and ready to make the first night Boogie arrives a national holiday (we’ll call it Boogie Night).

To steal the saying from the Cavs, I’m all in.

Next: 5 Potential Partners For A DeMarcus Cousins Trade

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