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5 Best Potential Trades For DeMarcus Cousins

By Sai Mohan

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Feb 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) defends Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) at Quicken Loans Arena. Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) defends Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) at Quicken Loans Arena. Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Cavaliers (3-Way Trade With Nets)

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DeMarcus Cousins is a 27-12 player. But that doesn’t mean he needs to be the alpha male on a team. According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Cavs recently inquired about possibly trading for Cousins.

Maybe Cousins, due to his history of disciplinary issues, needs to play on a team that already has a 1A and 1B. Playing alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, Cousins would have the freedom to play his game and not worry about carrying a team or leading a locker room.

James has proven to be an able leader off the court. J.R. Smith, like Cousins, had a history of disciplinary issues before he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in December 2014.

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Since arriving in Cleveland, Smith has stayed away from controversies and turned into an integral part of the championship team. There’s reason to believe that Cousins, too, can enjoy a career re-birth playing alongside James.

Why the Cavs do it: Kevin Love averaged 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in six games of the NBA Finals. Love became an afterthought in Tyronn Lue’s offense as six Cavs players saw more playing time during the seven-game series. At times, the Cavs were a better team without Love on the floor.

Cousins would instantly become the No. 3 scoring option behind James and Irving. In fact, James would be able to defer to Cousins as the primary scoring option against certain matchups and teams. Since Cousins has two years left on his contract, it won’t be a big gamble for the Cavs.

Why the Kings do it: Love, a former UCLA standout, would get to return to the state of California. More importantly, he would be the No. 1 scoring option on a young Kings roster.

Love, who once averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game for the Minnesota Timberwolves, can return to All-Star status and lead a young team. Mike Dunleavy, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mo Williams would bolster their weak backcourt.

Why the Nets do it: Again, Brooklyn has approximately $19 million left in cap room and would gladly absorb Rudy Gay’s contract from Sacramento Kings. They would be giving up Bogdanovic, but that’s not a hefty price to pay for Gay, who is capable of carrying an offense.

More hoops habit: New York Knicks: 2016 Offseason Grades

The Nets are not essential to make a Love-Cousins trade happen since Cavs have more than $10 million in trade exception and Kings are in a position to absorb the last four years of Love’s $113 million contract. However, the Nets would be helping Kings start anew by trading away Gay and Cousins.