DeMarcus Cousins could be traded to Washington Wizards
DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, former teammates at Kentucky, wish to be re-united in the NBA. Could that result in Sacramento Kings trading Cousins to Washington Wizards ahead of the February deadline?
Cousins has been subject to trade rumours for several years. However, the All-Star centre and the Kings organisation began the 2016-17 season on a clean slate under new coach Dave Joerger. Nearly two months into the new season, it seems like the Kings are on track to miss the playoffs yet again -- meaning Cousins could very likely be traded in the coming months.
“We talk about it (team up) all the time,” Wall said on Monday night after his Wizards beat the Kings 101-95 in overtime, per the Washington Post.
Prior to the game, the two former Wildcats dined together and reminisced over their days in college. And Cousins admitted that the thought of playing with Wall has crossed his mind on several occasions. “(Do we) talk about playing with one another? Is that your question? It’s come up," Cousins said after the game.
Cousins, who is averaging a career-high 28.7 points and 10.4 rebounds this season, even mentioned Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe during the discussion about playing with his former teammates.
DeMarcus Cousins and his friends…
At the 2010 NBA Draft, Wall, Cousins and Bledsoe were drafted No.1, No.5 and No. 18 respectively. All three have enjoyed reasonable success in the NBA but not the kind they enjoyed under coach John Calipari in Kentucky.
"They're going to all come to Sac. Come to Sac! ... (Wall) wants me (in Washington). Eric want us in Phoenix. ... Play with John and Eric again, you never know what will happen. It's the NBA, so hopefully one day he'll be in a Sacramento uniform," Cousins added.
Earlier this month, ESPN's Zach Lowe said on his podcast that the Sacramento Kings were losing patience with Cousins and finally part with the All-Star big man. "I've had a couple of guys from other teams tell me they're starting to hear the Kings are starting to get sick of Cousins.
"No one knows who's making the decisions from the ownership level, not who's making the decisions, but there's just so many voices among ownership. They have a million minority owners. Vlade (Divac) and Ken Catanella; there's just a lot of voices and no one knows who quite to listen to," reported Lowe.
Several other reports indicate that Sacramento Kings and DeMarcus Cousins are headed for an inevitable breakup. Hypothetically, if Cousins were to be traded to Washington, what kind of assets would the Wizards offer to Sacramento? Perhaps a package of Otto Porter Jr. and future draft picks? Maybe not. The Kings would likely find more value for Cousins while dealing with the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers.
In recent years, several "friends" have teamed up via free agency. DeMarcus Cousins isn't a free agent until the summer of 2018. While a trade to Wizards looks unlikely, anything is possible.
