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Boston Celtics: Trade Targets Who’d Help Attract Kevin Durant

By Maxwell Ogden

May 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots the ball against the San Antonio Spurs in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
May 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots the ball against the San Antonio Spurs in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 16, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) looks on during the second quarter of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) looks on during the second quarter of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings

Position: Center
Age: 25
Salary: $35,021,750 through 2018
Slash Line: .451/.333/.718
Season Averages: 34.6 MPG, 26.9 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 2.4 ORPG, 3.3 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 1.1 3PM

One way or another, the Boston Celtics will be gambling on a transcendent talent to become something greater than they currently are. Very few players have won a championship over the past five years, and those who have won’t be touchable in a trade.

Brad Stevens could help DeMarcus Cousins evolve from a statistically brilliant center into a genuine franchise centerpiece.

Cousins plays the style that fits what Stevens asks of his big men in Boston. He’s a bruising post player, a la Jared Sullinger, while also as an efficient 3-point shooter who can take his man off the bounce, a la Kelly Olynyk.

Coupled with Cousins being a dominant defensive rebounder, a force on the offensive glass, a skilled passer, and a capable defender, he’s the proper system away from being a Top 5 player in the NBA.

In 2015-16, Cousins became the first player to average 25.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 block since Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone in 1993-94. David Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only other players who have done so in NBA history.

Cousins, already a two-time All-Star at 25, has the tools to be dominant. Stevens can help maximize that potential.

Next: The Perfect Big Man

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