Boston Celtics: A Realistic Big-Man Wish List For 2016 Trade Deadline
By Jon Shames
1.) DeMarcus Cousins
A part of me feels like this trade deadline will end and DeMarcus Cousins, once again, will still be a Sacramento King.
Another part of me feels like the stars have perfectly aligned for a Cousins deal to finally go down.
The Sacramento Kings added Rajon Rondo in the summer, and the former Celtic has been putting up incredible numbers thus far, but even his addition hasn’t been enough to propel the Kings into the playoff picture in the Western Conference, despite the fact that it’s the weakest it’s been in a long time.
Sacramento has been the face of dysfunctional NBA franchises for the past few years, and that narrative has held true this season as well. The locker room tension has remained high all season, and the win total has remained low. The future of the Kings is almost as murky as that of the 76ers, a franchise that has won a combined 41 games in the past three seasons.
The Kings keep throwing pieces at Cousins in an attempt to keep him satisfied, but it’s just not happening. The now-25-year-old big has averaged at least 17 points per game in five of his six seasons since joining the pros, but has yet to sniff the postseason.
It’s the tale of a talented but unsatisfied big man stuck in the grip of a hopeless franchise.
That doesn’t sound familiar (*cough cough, Kevin Garnett*) does it?
Boston would be the perfect landing spot for Cousins. Not only does the team feature his former teammate Isaiah Thomas — now an All-Star caliber player — at point guard, the Celtics also have a handful of young pieces — most of which are shooters — to play the inside-out game with Cousins, and Brad Stevens is the master of creating chemistry, even between random parts.
Cousins would be the unquestioned star of this Boston Celtics team, and the group would have a real shot at a top-three seed in the East, never mind a postseason appearance.
Some are deterred by Cousins’ attitude, but he’s never had the opportunity to play in a fun-but-focused culture like the Celtics’. This team epitomizes the league’s new emphasis on team play, and that environment would be constructive for Cousins.
To bring in Cousins, who the Kings are already apprehensive about trading, the Celtics would need to throw the full arsenal at Vlade Divac and Co. Multiple first rounders, including the Nets’ 2016 pick would have to be included, as well as Lee’s expiring contract (in part to make salaries work) as well as one of the Celtics’ prospective talents — perhaps Marcus Smart.
Next: Isaiah Thomas And Avery Bradley: 1 Backcourt, 2 Stories
It seems steep, sure, but we’re talking about trading for a potential hall-of-fame big man. Danny Ainge would have to be crazy to not go all-out for a talent like this.