There has been a continuous flow of rumors surrounding the Sacramento Kings and its big man, DeMarcus Cousins. Reports have it that the Kings will finally loosen the grip and let go of Cousins who has been the subject of countless NBA trade rumors in the past years but still stayed as Kings. The recent talks though seem to have a good basis as NBA executives already hinted that the Kings are serious with pushing it through this time.
NBA Execs Hint That Cousins Trade Is Finally Happening
Cousins has been making the headlines in NBA trade news last week. He was initially rumored to flee the Kings and head either to the Denver Nuggets or the Portland Trail Blazers. However, with the history of rumors linking Cousins to other teams, fans believe that the speculations are another mere talks without any basis. This time though, Eastern and Western NBA executives share their take on the trade rumors, and they sounded like it is about to happen anytime soon, specifically this coming December.
The trade deadline comes in February and NBA executives believe that the Kings are going to do the trade this year to make the process less difficult.
"I'd say they have three months, tops," a Western Conference general manager revealed to SportingNews. "Probably more like a month, or month-and-a-half, because the closer they get to the (February trade) deadline, the less they're going to get back. If you're trying to trade him the week of the deadline, it's going to be tougher," the NBA executive explained.
While Cousins has long been rumored to be thrown away by the Kings, the team has not made the move since the All-Star player has arguably been contributing a lot to its games. As per report, an NBA executive said, "You have one owner in Sacramento who does not want to give him up...And you have 29 other owners who don't want to overpay because they are scared the guy is going to be a headache and is going to hurt the organization."
Despite his behavior, Cousins is still considered one of the best offensive players in the league. He is currently averaging 26.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists. With this record, there are several teams who would want to pick up the 26-year-old player.
O'Neal's Take On Demarcus Cousins Trade
Kings minority owner Shaquille O'Neal expressed his thoughts about the swirling speculations and said that the team may indeed consider changing "direction" regarding Cousins and the long-rumored trade.
"He hasn't shown me hose leadership qualities yet," O'Neal said. "That's why I'm hearing talk of, if things don't start to become correct then they may be looking to go in a different direction," O'Neal said, referring to Cousins' behavior that's putting him at the risk of trade in 2017. Cousins has a long history of having Kings coaches dismissal, not to mention that he was the core reason for Paul Westphal, George Karl, and Keith Smart's departure from the team. O'neal pointed out that they have been paying an expensive deal out of Cousins' shoddy behavior.
Cousins only has a year more to finish in his contract with the Kings which experts say is a stronger indication that the trade will finally happen.
