Win-Win Trade Scenario: DeMarcus Cousins For Kevin Love
By Sai Mohan
DeMarcus Cousins needs to be kept in check by steadfast locker room leaders. Kevin Love is a great teammate, but a misfit with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both need a new home. Why don’t the Sacramento Kings and Cavs come to terms on a swap?
Sacramento Kings have fired five coaches since DeMarcus Cousins was drafted in 2010. They haven’t sniffed the playoffs in the Boogie Cousins Era.
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers’ $113 million man, averaged 8.5 points and 6.5 boards in six games of the just-concluded NBA Finals. As many as six Cavaliers players played more minutes during the seven-game series.
Cousins has received more suspensions, flagrant fouls and disciplinary-related suspensions than any other player over the last three years. Kings beat writer Ailene Voisin cites the center’s “volatile mood swings and bullying personality” as the reason for coaches falling like ninepins in Sac-Town.
"“All four coaches (Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Tyrone Corbin and George Karl) were disrespected by their best player and attempted to discipline him in the usual manners: fines, suspensions, kicking him out of practice, removing him temporarily from the starting lineup,” Voisin wrote in March, while also recalling Michael Malone’s run-in with Cousins."
The Kings have burned some bridges just to appease Cousins. At what expense? Would marquee free agents ever want to go to a Sacramento organization at the mercy of Cousins?
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Sacramento Kings
Perhaps Cousins needs to play in a team that doesn’t view him as the alpha male. There is no denying his talent. He averaged 27 points and 12 rebounds this season and began shooting threes at a consistent rate.
Save for his lack of effort on defense, Cousins is the most complete big man in the game.
J.R. Smith, another player with a history of disciplinary issues, enjoyed a re-birth after his trade to Cleveland in December 2014. Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest, also underwent a similar metamorphosis after joining the Lakers in 2009.
Both those guys mellowed. Cousins needs a career renaissance and Sacramento is not the place to be.
Besides the Cavaliers, the San Antonio Spurs, too, would be nice destination for Cousins. It’s hard to imagine LeBron James or Gregg Popovich taking kindly to Cousins’ tantrums.
If anything, they’d bring out the best in him and justify John Calipari’s tall claims that Cousins is a MVP-caliber talent.
As for Love, Cleveland is just not a good match. During his days with Minnesota, Love was a dominant low-post presence putting up 25 points and 15 boards on any given night. In Cleveland, the former Bruin has become a spot-up shooter and a third- or fourth-scoring option.
How much longer can Cavs justify paying max dollars to a player who invariably sits out fourth quarters?
Love and Kings would be a great fit. Love would be back on the West Coast and be the No. 1 scoring option on a young Kings team. Over two drafs, Sacramento has bolstered its front ourt rotation with acquisitions of Willie Cauley-Stein, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissiere.
Despite trading Cousins, Kings would have Kosta Koufos, Cauley-Stein and Papagiannis to rotate at center. They would have Love and Skal Labissiere rotate at the 4 with the ability to stretch the floor.
Last season, it was evident that Cauley-Stein and Cousins couldn’t work efficiently as a front court pairing. Coach George Karl played Rudy Gay at the 4 in small-lineups, stunting the growth of Cauley-Stein, who clocked only 21 minutes per game in his rookie season.
A frontcourt of Cauley-Stein and Love is worth the game since it would allow the former to play as a dominant center.
Are Kings finally giving up on Cousins? The Ringer speculated that Kings were preparing for life without Cousins, so it seemed after their bizarre selections on draft night. Soon after the regular season, Sacramento Bee reported that Vlade Divac isn’t opposed to the idea of shopping Cousins.
"“A year ago, Cousins was untouchable. A year later, the sense within the organization is Divac is tempted by the prospect of pairing his center with his personally selected coach but that he has become increasingly frustrated by his center’s ongoing issues and, for the first time, is willing to test the market for the two-time All-Star.”"
Do note that the aforesaid report was published before the hiring of Dave Joerger, who has hinted that the Kings would run their offense through Cousins next season.
Last month, ESPN insider David Thorpe opined that Joerger won’t thrive on a team with Cousins.
"“Joerger can coach. But as long as Vlade Divac is the GM and DeMarcus Cousins is there, this “day” is the same as the day George Karl was hired. That guy can coach too, but the lack of leadership from management allowed Cousins to serve as the true “King,” and that proved to be a catastrophe.”"
One thing is for certain: DeMarcus Cousins won’t be allowed to serve as the true “King” in Cleveland since there’s already a King in Northeast Ohio. In fact, there’s also Prince Kyrie Irving.
Maybe, that’s exactly the kind of situation for Cousins, where he can take a backseat and play his game.
ESPN Trade Machine approves the DeMarcus Cousins for Kevin Love swap. Both players need a fresh start. The Cavs will be taking up a player with two years left on his contract. Kings would get four years of a player with great scoring potential and a chip on his shoulder.
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s the only way to avoid the same old “Cousins is a locker room cancer” and “Love doesn’t fit with Cleveland” discussions next April. Both players deserve better.