3 Trade Packages That Could Pry DeMarcus Cousins from Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings backed themselves into a corner, and it might cost them their franchise face.
Despite multiple denialsย from team management of any interest in a deal, All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins' name continues to surface in trade rumors.
The Kings reportedly held court with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday to exchange "possible frameworks" of a deal involving Cousins, league sources told Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. Sacramento also "started to engage with teams and explore trade scenarios beyond the Lakers," according to that same report.
This point on the NBA calendar is typically filled with trade smoke, and it isn't always easy to see through it and find the truth. But there is so much of it surrounding this specific player, it's hard not to think there's some fire at its source.
Wojnarowski previously reported that Kings head coach George Karl had an "intense desire" to deal Cousins. According to Wojnarowski, Karl had even reportedly "been recruiting Kings vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac and multiple players on the Kings' roster" to help him convince owner Vivek Ranadive that Cousins needs to go.
This has created quite a mess publicly, and the situation might be even more clunky behind the scenes. Making matters worse, the Kings were reportedly worried about a Karl-Cousins conflict before they even made the coaching hire in February, viaย USA Today's Sam Amick:
An immense talent like Cousins doesn't hit the trade market often. He's young (24), relatively cheap (three years, $50.8 million left on his deal) and wildly productive (24.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game this past season).
In other words, he's going to carry a significant price tag.ย What's a realistic offer to get Cousins away from the Kings? The following three trade packages might do the trick.
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers receive: DeMarcus Cousins
Sacramento Kings receive:ย No. 2 pick, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle
Dumping multiple future assets for one present addition is always a risk. Considering the Los Angeles Lakers are coming off their worst season in franchise history (21-61), this deal looks dangerously shortsighted on the surface.
But it's going to take a king's ransomโno pun intendedโto pry away the best player from a division rival. If Ranadive is hesitant about trading Cousins anyway, the owner would have an even tougher time signing off on a transaction that could lift the Lakers back to relevance sooner than later.
"It's hard to imagineย Ranadive approving a trade with the Lakers that isn't a massive haul for the Kingsโtrading the best and most popular player on your roster to your most-hated rival is how owners become hated," wrote NBC Sports' Kurt Helin. "This would not go over well in Sacramento."
But a package this loaded might change that tune.
Assuming the second overall pick is used on Jahlil Okafor, the Kings could be adding their interior anchor for the next decade. Julius Randle, the seventh overall pick last year, could team with Okafor to give Sacramento a young, talented and cheap frontcourt to build around. Jordan Clarkson, an All-Rookie first-team selection, has a chance to be the perfect accelerator for Karl's high-powered offense.
The Kings would be getting a lotโbut not everything they're asking for. They're hoping to get the aforementioned trio along with "other draft assets," plus they'd like to unload Carl Landry's remaining two-year, $13.5 million contract, league sources told Wojnarowski.
The Lakers shouldn't need to scratch all of those itches. But they'll have to at least put Randle, Clarkson and the pick on the table in order to put the best offer in front of Sacramento.
Should L.A. pay a price that high? Absolutely.
Cousins is still climbing toward his massive ceiling, and he already might be the league's most talented center. This past season, he became only the seventh player in NBA history (and first since Kevin Garnett's MVP season in 2003-04) to average at least 24 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 blocks.
He'll only get better from here, and his already reasonable contract will grow exponentially more valuable as the salary cap climbs with the new TV money, as ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton observed:
"In 2017-18, the last season of his rookie extension, Cousins will make $18.1 million. That's 17.2 percent of the $105 million the salary cap is projected to rise to by then, making it equivalent to an $11.5 million salary with today's $67.1 million cap. Essentially, the Kings will be paying Cousins likeย Danilo Gallinariย orย Marcin Gortatย while likely getting top-10 production.
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So even though this transaction would open several holes on the Lakers roster, it would also leave enough flexibility to fill them. Given this franchise's storied past and built-in market advantages, it's always going to hold some appeal with free agents.
To wit, the Lakers are reportedly moving up the list of preferred landing spots for free agent All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, via ESPN.com's Marc Stein:
Players like Cousins, Aldridge and fellow free agent Kevin Love are all proven commodities. As much as fans might like the potential of Randle, Clarkson and Okafor (or whoever else L.A. takes at No. 2), there are no guarantees that any of the three will pan out. Not to mention, those three wouldn't have the same clout with current free agents as a recognized star like Cousins.
A Cousins-less Kings roster is one that needs resetting. This trade would allow them to do that, while the Lakers could expedite their rebuilding project.
Boston Celtics receive:ย DeMarcus Cousins, Nik Stauskas
Sacramento Kings receive:ย Marcus Smart, Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Gerald Wallace, No. 16 pick, No. 28 pick, 2016 first-round pick (Dallas Mavericks, top-seven protected)
This is the moment Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been waiting for. The executive has accumulated a small mountain of future assets, and this is his chance to push his best trade chips to the center of the table and potentially bring back a superstar.
Since tearing down the 2008 championship team, Ainge has been slowly rebuilding his roster through the draft. But he has said his ultimate goal is to speed this process up by flipping some of the Celtics' picks for established talent:
This deal would require some of Boston's best assets. Marcus Smart is the most exciting young player on the Celtics, a bulldog defender, fearless attacker and willing distributor. Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk are both next-generation bigs who can stretch a defense thin with the three-point shot. Smart could be the engine in Karl's offense, and those bigs could provide the proper floor spacing.
None of those three draft picks is a game-changerโif the Kings play hardball, they could hold out for one of those unprotected first-rounders coming from the aging Brooklyn Netsโbut all three are possible avenues to new talent.
The Kings are reportedly searching for "established, veteran players," via Wojnarowski, but they should be looking further down the road if they're moving on from Cousins. This trade could be a decent middle ground, since it would deliver a handful of picks and three prospects who all have NBA service under their belts (Gerald Wallace's expiring $10.1 million contract would help the salaries align).
If Ainge had a chance to close this deal, he'd pull the trigger with no hesitation. Stein linked the Celtics to Cousins back in May, and CSNNE.com's Greg Dickersonย has heard the Celtics will continue pushing for Cousins despite the Kings' insistence that they wouldn't let him go.
As for the players involved on Boston's end, none would give Ainge any real pause. Executives told Broderick Turner of theย Los Angeles Timesย that the Celtics tried shopping Smart and both of their first-rounders to the Philadelphia 76ers for Nerlens Noel and the No. 3 pick. Jake Fischer of SI.com heard Olynyk was also connected to those talks.
The Celtics need a go-to scorer and a superstar to build around. Cousins can easily fill both of those roles. Sharpshooter Nik Stauskas might help spark a Celtics offense that finished this past season ranked 27th in three-point percentage at 32.7.
This won't be the most top-heavy package the Kings could find, but it would deliver the biggest collection of assets. They could keep as many of the incoming parts as they want, then flip the rest to build whatever type of roster they envision.
Denver Nuggets receive: DeMarcus Cousins, Carl Landry, Nik Stauskas
Sacramento Kings receive: Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler, No. 7 pick
In 2012-13, Karl guided the Denver Nuggets to a franchise-record 57 wins. Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler all played major minutes on that team.
Why is that pertinent information in 2015? Because Karl reportedly thinks he can work that same magic with those same players again.ย League sources told CBS Sports' Ken Berger that Karl "is enamored with the idea" of bringing Lawson, Faried and Chandler to Sacramento.
The Nuggets should be even more excited about landing Cousins. Not only is he the star presence they've been missing since Carmelo Anthony's departure, but Boogie also worked well under head coach Michael Malone, who started last season in Sacramento.
Ranadive has "been unwilling to discuss a deal to send Cousins to Denver," sources told Wojnarowski. But the Kings owner also said his team has "zero interest" in dealing Cousins anywhere, viaย USA Today's Sam Amick, so it's fair to speculate on whether there is also some leeway with his anti-Nuggets stance.
If the Nuggets only had to part with those three veteran players, there's no reason for the Kings to make this move. Lawson is a good-not-great player. Faried makes a ton of money ($50 million over the next four seasons) for a big man who neither shoots nor protects the rim. And Chandler owns a below-average 13.5 player efficiency rating for his career.
That's why Denver needs to sweeten the pot with the No. 7 pick, plus absorb what's left on Landry's deal. It might seem like a curious move for a rebuilding team like the Nuggets to unload a top-10 pickย andย take on a pricey contract. But the purpose of a rebuilding project is to find a superstar, and Cousins definitely fits the bill.
Plus, they might be able to turn Stauskas into something of value. He had a rough go as a rookie (4.4 points per game on 36.5 percent shooting), but his skill set looked good enough to make him the eighth overall selection just one year ago. He'd join current Nuggets prospects Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic as players the team could develop or ship out for win-now talent.
If Karl is keen on getting the old gang back together, this looks like the best way for the Kings to do it.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.
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