DeMarcus Cousins Should Be This Offseason's Prize on the Trade Market
DeMarcus Cousins deserves a change of scenery, a seeming necessity the Sacramento Kings may be prepared to facilitate by way of offseason hysteria.
So, trade.
Trade rumblings do not abide by a league-imposed deadline. Rumors are a year-round staple in the NBA, with the flow of information and chatter constant, even after the zero hour has passed.
That's the situation in Sacramento as of now. The Feb. 19 trade cutoff is dead and done, yet sources tell Bleacher Report's Howard Beck the threat of inevitable change is alive and well:
"Sources say Karl would love to acquire Ty Lawson—if the rebuilding Nuggets were to make him available—or any other members of his last Nuggets team, which won 57 games in 2012-13. Karl wants players who move the ball and push the tempo, and that could mean wild upheaval on the Kings roster. Even DeMarcus Cousins, their franchise center, is not untouchable, according to a source with insight into Karl's thinking. 'At the trade deadline, everyone was available,' the person said. Including Cousins? "Every single person (on the Kings roster) was available.' Although Karl does not hold a front office title, 'he definitely has control' of future personnel decisions, the source said.
"
Deeming a player "not untouchable" is different from frantically shopping him, hoping a suitable bidder emerges. Let's make that clear. But moving their lone superstar over the offseason should remain a distinct possibility for the Kings, who appear desperate for change.
Making Cousins available, as this summer's biggest prize, while drastic, is a way to incite that change.
Time to Move On
Few player and team relationships have endured as much as the alliance between Cousins and the Kings.
Sacramento's new ownership has proved aggressive to a fault, especially this season, employing three head coaches before playing 60 games. George Karl is the latest sideline face, an open-minded head honcho with 25 years of experience—enough to make you believe that maybe, just maybe, the Kings are on the verge of building something that outlasts all back-fence talk.
Even Cousins has embraced his presence, after reports to the contrary preceded Karl's actual arrival. But with the Kings apparently willing to move him, it's worth revisiting his frustrations from before.
This is what Cousins told reporters Feb. 8, after hitting a game-winner no less, per The Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones:
"I ain’t pumped up. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. The crazy thing about it is, I’ve just got a question for y’all: How you gonna stop God’s plan? How you gonna do that? How you gonna do that? That’s all I want to know. How you gonna stop God’s plan? ...
This city done put me through so much, and I’ve stayed loyal to it the whole time. I just wanna know how you gonna stop God’s plan? God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. The marathon continues. I’m out.
"
Try reading between the lines here, and you'll get lost. Cousins' comments were cryptic, bordering incoherent.
At the same time, they represent a disconnect between him and the franchise. His support of the departed Mike Malone, coupled with the above rant, suggests a lack of communication and trust.
Relief isn't found in the direction these Kings are headed, either.
Hiring Karl is an extension of their obsession with playing uptempo basketball, an infatuation that began immediately after Malone left. The Kings ranked 16th in possessions used per 48 minutes through the 24 games he coached, favoring a more calculated, half-court-oriented approach. They've dramatically increased the pace since his exit and now rank fifth in that same category.
Not surprisingly, Cousins' efficiency has suffered during this experiment. Though he's a mobile tower who can cover the floor when the situation calls for it, a frenetic pace doesn't suit him. He's at his best when he has more time to gather himself and can be used as a post-up threat.
| Before Dec. 16 | 32.0 | 23.5 | 51.2 | 12.6 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 109.4 | 98.3 |
| Since Dec. 16 | 35.2 | 23.8 | 44.4 | 12.0 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 100.1 | 103.2 |
The Kings do rank fifth in post-up frequency, but that standing will invariably fall if their priority remains pace. And if they're going to install a system, an on-court culture, that doesn't cater to Cousins' strengths as well as it should, there's little point in pretending this charade is working.
Because, after all, it's not.
Gauging Cousins' Trade Value
Accepting that Cousins and the Kings aren't right for one another is the easy part.
Finding a new home for Cousins is exponentially harder.
"Just because the Kings are willing to trade him doesn’t mean they will—or even come close," wrote NBC Sports' Dan Feldman. "He’s a young star, and it would be difficult for other teams to give Sacramento fair return."
Unloading superstars is always a tricky, risk-riddled process. The Kings aren't going to just give Cousins away; he's too valuable.
When he's on the floor, they outscore opponents by 1.4 points per 100 possessions. When he steps off, they're on the wrong side of an 11.5-point differential. That, for those keeping score at home, is a 12.9-point swing.
This season in particular has been the best of his career. He ranks seventh in player efficiency rating and is on pace to become the ninth player to ever average at least 23 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and 1.5 blocks for an entire season, putting him in the company of seven Hall of Famers and one inevitable inductee (Kevin Garnett).
Cousins is also just the third player to amass 6,000 points, 3,500 rebounds, 850 assists, 400 steals and 350 blocks through the first five seasons of his career. The other two are David Robinson and Charles Barkley.
How do the Kings put a price tag on that?
Better yet, which teams can afford to propose trade packages that don't necessitate laughter?
Followup question: Is Cousins worth the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft?
Most definitely.
The Kings are in a truly unique position if they're ready to move Cousins this summer and begin a full-on rebuild. Any one of the teams in play for this year's No. 1 pick could have the motive to headline a package crafted around the top selection.
Two squads spring to mind in particular—the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. Both have a hole at center, and both plan on using cap space as their primary building block. Cousins is an immediate impact player who elevates ceilings and attracts free agents.
Neither the Lakers nor Knicks can trade the top pick ahead of the draft, since both would, in this scenario, have first-round commitments that extend to 2016, per RealGM. But they can trade the actual player after the fact.
Don't discount the Minnesota Timberwolves or Philadelphia 76ers here, either.
Provided they can dump Nikola Pekovic elsewhere, the Timberwolves can accelerate their rebuilding process with a core of Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio and Cousins. And while the Sixers have a logjam up front, injured rookie Joel Embiid is reportedly available, per Forbes' Mark Heisler, and the team has come up with a new "This starts now" slogan for next season. Cousins can certainly help now.
At least three of the NBA's four worst franchises have a legitimate case to dangle their top pick, wherever it lies, in this year's draft. In the event the Kings are looking to hit reset, seeking out deals built around high selections (top five or better) would be a good place to start.
Abounding Options
Fearful of blowing up the roster, the Kings could look to acquire more established players, perhaps engaging desperate contenders looking to take that next leap. Cousins has yet to be on a team that's won 30 games and would certainly welcome the opportunity to play beyond mid-April in the near future.
Traveling this route is inherently harder, because contenders are usually short on expendable assets and seldom offer the best packages. The Kings are likely to extract more from a middle-rung team like the Boston Celtics, who are overloaded with picks and prospects and have registered previous interest in Cousins, per Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
Dealing with the Nuggets directly is even a possibility. They made Lawson available ahead of the deadline, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe, and could theoretically assemble a package around him and Jusuf Nurkic, if they're so inclined.
To be absolutely sure, the market for Cousins is uncertain, but there is bound to be one.
A strong one.
Not yet 25 years old and extremely versatile for his position, Cousins is the sort of player rebuilding teams reverse course for and contending squads mortgage futures on. If and when Sacramento puts him on the chopping block, an aggressive, asset-charged bidding war will commence—the result of which would constructively dissolve a partnership that just doesn't seem to be working anymore.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate leading into games for Feb. 27.
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