Demarcus Cousins Wants To Boogie Out Of Town

Today’s NBA overfloweth with talent, fans are hard pressed to tune into any game and resist being overwhelmed by the best athletes in the world. The NBA shows no signs of slowing it’s pace, featuring global superstars like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Anthony Davis. As the game and it’s players evolve, so does the value placed upon their attributes. What was gold yesterday, is pyrite today. Such is the case with many of the NBA’s centers, no longer allowed to dominate the paint with interior post play, now relegated to put backs and defending high pick and rolls. This doesn’t mean that the position is no longer needed, just something else is needed from it. Beyond this seismic shift in the importance of size, exist a handful of outliers, players whose skills are so rare that their expertise supersedes the common evaluation. Demarcus Cousins is one of the outliers and the best center in the NBA.

At just 24, Boogie possesses a skill set unfound in any of his piers. His size, mobility, rebounding and creative scoring place him at the top of the pile of near seven footers. To attain such a player is considered a windfall, a commodity that must be protected. Then why are there so many rumors about Cousins leaving the Sacramento Kings? The answer is in the question. The Sacramento Kings, the worst organization in the NBA. The Kings are a questionable decision maker in owner Vivek Ranadive, a rookie gm in Vlade Divac and a coach who flat out doesn’t like Boogie, George Karl. There’s no question that Demarcus can be a tumultuous fellow, the big man wears his heart on his sleeve. Given your druthers, of course you’d prefer that Cousins behave as a model citizen, unfortunately in situations such as this, the headaches are the cost of doing business. If executed properly, business can be very, very good though. Vlade and Vivek have pointedly stated on numerous occasions, that they will absolutely not trade the former Kansas center. Which in NBA circles, usually means he is absolutely available, just up your offer. The Kings are a woeful team, with no hope of being competitive any time soon, particularly in the loaded Western Conference. They’re considering signing much maligned point guard Rajon Rondo this offseason, that alone should tell you where they lay.

The Kings also selected Willy Cauley-Stein in the draft, a player whose style very much fits the current NBA center trend. But how will the two pair together? Most prognosticators are less than optimistic about their imagined prosperity. The Kings are saddled with the contract of Rudy Gay, a good, overpaid player, whose deal will prevent them from making any noise in free agency. They find themselves in quite the conundrum. They have a superb player, who they want to be a part of their team when they’re competitive, but they aren’t going to be competitive any time soon.

It’s time for the Kings to make a trade. There has been far too much writing on the wall and Cousins leaving Sacramento has been mentioned far too often. The damage is irreparable. Sacramento is unlikely to lure John Callipari to the Kings, clearly a last ditch effort to appease Cousins. His current coach has been too vocal in his desire for him leave, unfortunately rendering the situation beyond individual party’s desires and toward, what must now be done.

The two most visible trade partners for Sacramento are the Celtics and the Lakers. These are the two organizations that have expressed the most interest in acquiring the 6’10 center.

From the Lakers, the Kings would require D’angelo Russell and Julius Randle, maybe even Jordan Clarkson to begin any trade talks. Had the Lakers selected Jahlil Okafor in the draft, this trade would be a far less bitter pill for the Kings to swallow, replacing their proven big man with a potentially great one. Question marks do remain when it comes to Randle though, he may have been a lottery pick one short year ago, but a player coming back from a broken leg never measures out to their true trade value. Hesitation may also arise when the thought of trading your best player within the Pacific division rears it’s ugly head.

From the Celtics, the Kings can have whoever they like. Boston can offer Marcus Smart as the best part of their package, but he projects out to be a good but never great player. The key to a trade with the Celtics is going all in on a full rebuild, something that may be required of Sacramento. The Kings would be loaded with a plethora of draft picks, including multiple first rounders of the projected-to-be-very-bad-very-soon, Brooklyn Nets, acquired in the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade. Boston also provides the added value of sending Boogie almost as geographically far away as possible.

If George Karl has his way (He won’t.), Cousins will be on his way to Denver for a package of Kenneth Faried, Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler, because Karl has a really hard time letting go of the past. His infatuation with his previous players is confounding, especially those from a roster that never actually accomplished much.

This story isn’t even close to fully developing. The rumors of Karl’s imminent dismissal, Callipari’s potential arrival, the posturing for bigger trade offers, all promise to drag this out for at least a month or two. However, the King’s must remember, this is not the same situation as the Kevin Love trade last season. The Cavaliers lucked into the first pick, subsequently emerging as the favorite to land the UCLA power forward’s services.

The draft is over, the pieces are in place and will not change. If the Kings don’t act swiftly, teams will move on and leave themselves with less to offer. For an organization that has done little correctly for the past ten years, timing is key. Sacramento should remain wary of entering into waters with the sharks of the NBA. Especially since we’re not sure they can swim.