Sacramento Kings Rumors: Buying or Selling Gossip Ahead of 2015 NBA Draft

To say the lead-up to the NBA draft has been tumultuous for the Sacramento Kings would be an understatement. Of course, there's seemingly always a lot of gossip in the days leading up to the draft, so it's not surprising.

For the Kings, a lot of the focus is on center DeMarcus Cousins and whether the team will trade the talented big man. There are reports of other franchises interested in Cousins, denials from Sacramento on his availability and the disturbing possibility of head coach George Karl allegedly going behind the front office's back to shop the center to other organizations.

Of course, those are only some of the rumors involving the Kings as the draft approaches. There are also other reports about Sacramento potentially trading its draft pick or looking to bring in two potentially toxic players in JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo. 

Let's break it all down, starting with the elephant in the room.

The Possibility of the Kings Trading DeMarcus Cousins

The talk of Cousins being traded is nothing new. It's just that the volume and ferociousness of that chatter has ratcheted up in recent days. 

The most prominent rumor has the Los Angeles Lakers looking to trade for the big man, which was first reported by Marc Stein of ESPN:

According to Stein, the Lakers are "actively pursuing trade scenarios" to pry Cousins away from Sacramento. The team has the No. 2 pick in the draft, power forward Julius Randle and promising guard Jordan Clarkson.

Stein also mentions the Orlando Magic getting involved as part of a three-team trade, with the Florida-based franchise holding the No. 5 pick in the draft and center Nikola Vucevic.

However, the Kings front office has insisted Cousins isn't available, with the message coming straight from the top in owner Vivek Ranadive.

Yet just because the front office doesn't want to trade Cousins, it doesn't mean everyone in the organization is on board with that plan, particularly Karl. Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting Karl has been going behind the organization's back to sell other teams and Kings players on the idea of trading Cousins.

Wojnarowski's report was soon followed with a not-so-subtle response from Cousins.

Karl has since kind of denied the report, mentioning "fibs and lies."

However, the coach also didn't come out and say it's false or that he doesn't want to trade Cousins.

Vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac is still insistent, at least in public, that the team isn't trading Cousins. While Karl wouldn't say he doesn't want to trade Cousins, Divac said it for him.

Yet Wojnarowski is also reporting Divac is exploring a deal with the Lakers behind the scenes. It would have the aforementioned No. 2 pick, Randle, Clarkson, plus "other draft assets." The Kings would also send Carl Landry and the two years, $13.5 million remaining on his contract. 

So with all this turmoil in mind, what should the Kings do? 

The one thing they absolutely shouldn't do is trade Cousins. He is under contract for the next three seasons. Cousins is also the best player the Kings have had in years.

He's the only player on the roster actually worth building around. Sure, Rudy Gay is a good player. Darren Collison was effective when healthy last season. Ben McLemore showed promise after a disappointing rookie season. None of those guys is remotely close to the player Cousins is.

Plus, Cousins actually likes Sacramento. 

But if the Kings aren't trading Cousins, what happens if he can't coexist with Karl?

That's right. If the situation becomes untenable and it comes down to trading Cousins or firing Karl, the Kings should fire Karl. Period.

Sure, there's the argument that no self-respecting coach would come to Sacramento if the team fired the coach so early into his tenure.

But there's more to it than that. Assuming the Kings actually went through with it and got rid of their coach, they wouldn't be doing it because he failed to deliver on the court. They'd be doing it for insubordination off it. 

Karl's job is to coach the team, nothing more. In fact, Divac is already on record as saying Karl "overstepped his bounds" when saying no player is untradable, a comment he made in reference to Cousins.

Besides, as SB Nation's Tom Ziller points out, Karl knew Cousins wasn't going anywhere when he begged for the job.

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Look, I know Boogie is not an easy assignment. But if you aren't willing to try to coach him up, DON'T BEG FOR THE JOB.

— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) June 23, 2015"

Other coaching candidates would likely see the difference between the situation with Karl and a different one where the coach was fired after half a season for failing to win games on the court. And even if they didn't, the NBA is a star's league. 

Cousins is the only star the Kings have, and they shouldn't trade him.

Verdict: Sell

Trade for Ty Lawson

Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images

Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings have been in discussions that would send Ty Lawson to Sacramento.

"Though the talks have yet to gain traction, Sacramento and Denver have discussed a deal involving point guard Ty Lawson, league sources say."

According to ESPN's Chad Ford (h/t Sactown Royalty), the Nuggets are trying to entice the Kings to swap the No. 6 pick for Lawson. Up to this point, Sacramento has rejected those overtures.

Like any trade, it depends on what's involved. If the trade is simply the No. 6 pick for Lawson, it's worth considering. While adding the point guard wouldn't make the Kings a championship contender, it would put them in the playoff hunt. 

As Tony Xypteras points out in the Sactown Royalty article linked above, adding Lawson to the backcourt would be an upgrade over Collison but not at the expense of including Collison or another player in the trade.

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Replacing Collison with Lawson is an upgrade, but not a ‘worth the #6 pick’ upgrade. If the Kings wanted to add Ty Lawson to the Darren Collison backcourt, well, now I’m listening. A Lawson acquisition that allows the Kings to keep Collison would push Collison to the Kings bench unit, and we all know how much help that unit needs. That’s a tangible upgrade.

"

Lawson isn't an elite player, so making the swap isn't a no-brainer by any stretch. But having Cousins, Gay and Lawson in the starting five, with a quality backup in Collison coming off the bench, would be a definite upgrade. Plus, Lawson is under contract for the next two seasons, giving the Kings at least a two-year window to contend.

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

Sure, there's the possibility the No. 6 pick ends up being a star player. And not only that, but it would be a player who's under team control for much longer than two years and at a price way less than $25 million. 

Of course, it's also possible the player picked at No. 6 ends up being a bust. Just look at the Kings for an example. Sacramento has picked in the lottery the last eight years. The only player who ended up being a star is Cousins. 

Tyreke Evans, while a good NBA player, is the next-best thing, and the Kings got him with the No. 4 pick. Thomas Robinson wasn't worth the No. 5 pick, and the jury is still out on whether Ben McLemore (No. 7 pick in 2013) and Nik Stauskas (No. 8 pick in 2014) will become anything more than solid role players.

Assuming the Kings can get Lawson for the No. 6 pick, without having to include any other players, it may be a move worth making.

Verdict: Buy

Swap Rudy Gay for Rajon Rondo

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

To be clear, this wouldn't be an actual trade. Rondo is a free agent and can't be traded. But the implication, included in Wojnarowski's article linked above, is that Sacramento is trying to trade Gay so it can clear enough cap space to sign Rondo.

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Gay signed a three-year, $40 million extension that starts with the 2015-16 season, a contract that has become even more palatable to teams with the sharp rise coming in the NBA salary cap. Gay has played well in his two-plus seasons with the Kings and remains a target of interest with multiple teams, front-office executives said.

Sacramento is motivated to find a way to create more salary-cap space with possible deals, something that the Kings will need to pursue Dallas Mavericks free-agent point guard Rajon Rondo, league sources said. The Kings and Rondo have a mutual interest, with Rondo intrigued with the idea of a potential one-year deal in Sacramento that could help to rebuild his league-wide value, sources said.

"

Assuming the Kings had the necessary cap space without making trades to get it, should they sign Rondo? 

No.

Rondo has been declining in recent years. His player efficiency rating has dropped in each of the last two seasons, to the point that his 13.5 PER in 2014-15 is below average (15.0 is average). He's attacking the basket with increasingly less frequency (only 30.9 percent of his attempts last season were within three feet of the hoop), which is an ominous sign for a player who only made 32.6 percent of his jump shots.

Rondo works best in a pick-and-roll-heavy, half-court offense, while Karl wants to get into the open court and push the pace. Beyond the clash in styles, the point guard wasn't even effective in running the offense in Dallas. The Mavericks were 4.7 points per 100 possessions worse when he was on the court. 

That's not even to mention Rondo's questionable character. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle benched him after an argument in February. Then, during the team's opening-round series against the Houston Rockets, the team sat Rondo down under the guise of a back injury.

Just signing Rondo, even if it's for the one-year deal Wojnarowski mentioned, is a bad idea. The Kings are also supposed to trade Gay to get the necessary cap space to do so? 

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

That would be an idiotic move. The Kings would be trading their second-best player to sign someone who's declining, isn't a good fit for their offense and didn't get along with his coach in his last stop.

Verdict: Sell

Signing JaVale McGee

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Speaking of a coach not getting along with a player, George Karl didn't get along with JaVale McGee when the two of them were paired in Denver. 

This is from ESPN.com when the Nuggets fired Karl following the 2012-13 season: "A source with knowledge of the situation told [Ramona] Shelburne one of the primary issues the Nuggets had with Karl was his reluctance to play young center JaVale McGee, whom they had signed to a four-year, $44 million extension in the offseason."

Karl didn't want to play McGee in Denver, yet Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports is reporting the Kings are looking to sign the big man:

Signing McGee would be a bad move for the Kings. 

The center has barely played in recent seasons, only appearing in a combined 28 games over the past two years. When he has been on the court, McGee hasn't been particularly effective.

His PERs each of the last two seasons are below average. About the only thing McGee has going for him is his ability to protect the rim, as he still averaged 2.8 blocks per 36 minutes in 2014-15, which was his lowest total since his rookie year.

But it's not worth taking a flier on McGee simply because of his shot-blocking ability, especially in light of his history with Karl and injuries. With Cousins on the roster, it's not like McGee is a major need. The Kings would be better off signing another backup big man, such as Ekpe Udoh or Bismack Biyomobo, who can also block shots but don't have the same concerns that come with McGee.

Verdict: Sell

Unless noted otherwise, all stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.

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