NBA Rumors: Sacramento Kings Must Dump DeMarcus Cousins After Squabble

DeMarcus Cousins was sent home before the Sacramento Kings' 96-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday after an argument with coach Paul Westphal.  The argument seemingly brought about irreconcilable differences between the two, which almost always ends in the departure of one of the two. 

If Cousins were to become available to the rest of the league, the 6'11" and 270-lb. center would surely be sought after by more than a few teams.  He was drafted No. 5 overall by the Kings last year and averaged 14.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.  To start this young season he has improved defensively tallying 11.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while improving his free throw percentage from 68 percent to 72 percent.  At only 21 years of age he has a lot of room to grow, despite burning a bridge in Sacramento.

The Kings need to dump Cousins despite his imposing presence in the middle.  They have a very young team and need Coach Westphal to uphold his position of power on the team.  If the disconnect continues and possibly worsens, they may be without a coach and a young center next season.  At the very worst they may all turn on Westphal if the situation becomes worse and find themselves in a similar position as the Detroit Pistons were in with John Kuester last year after he and Richard Hamilton got into it. 

Cousins demanding to be traded is certainly not the right way to go about it, but it's been done and it's hard to reconcile with his teammates and coaches after it's been done.  Luckily for Sacramento, Cousins will be coveted in the trade market and should be able to get a substantial return for him.

Of course, at this point Cousins and his agent say he never demanded a trade.

We'll see how it works out for both Cousins and the Kings after other NBA teams evaluate his value and their needs.  If anything, maybe Cousins would be better off an another building team with his former teammate John Wall.  It all depends if his attitude scares away contenders.  There has already been talks about the Houston Rockets being interested.