Controversial Sacramento Kings center and double-doubles leader Demarcus Cousins may finally be traded after years of wrangling over his stay and his team may finally be ready to part with him. The question is whether there are teams serious enough to consider preliminary talks with the Kings now that they're ready to trade.
Kings minority owner Shaquille O'Neal fed speculation to the rumors by floating the idea that a deal could be made as early as December for trading the All-Star to other teams. The Golden State Warriors could be on top of the list but as of now, Warriors executives have not issued any statements regarding the idea. While the deadline for trade talks is still on February, it should come as a worry for the "Boogie" since his value would depreciate the longer the trade deal becomes.
Teams like the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets have started off slow this year and with it come the pressure to make the deal to try to balance their performances. The Celtics' possession of the Nets' first-round pick in a losing value adds to that pressure. According to CBS Sports, you have to have equilibrium to balance that deal.
Cousins has at least one more year with the Kings after this season which will earn him $17 million and another $18 million next season. That's not exactly a small thing for the top center and one of the best offensive players in the league. Only 26 years old, he's averaged 26.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game. There are plenty of teams who would like to drop Cousins into their starting five, SN reported.
While Cousins may be a hot item, his spat with referees, his own coach and flouting of team rules may make other teams take a second look. For one, even with his high scoring, he hasn't helped the Sacramento Kings secure a playoff spot. There are talks even his teammates think he's not going to help them achieve that either.
His temperament notwithstanding, Cousins' record speaks for itself, something other teams may want to look into. Just a couple of weeks ago, with 14 points and 12 rebounds playing against the Atlanta Hawks, Cousins surpassed Chris Webber to become the double-doubles leader with a total score of 246 against Webber's previous record of 245.
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