DeMarcus Cousins and Russell Westbrook (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The LA Lakers are in the thick of trade rumors again but the big question remains: who is the target?
The basis of the trade rumors is Eric Pincus from Basketball Insiders in his intriguing article.
"The team has held off on signing Tarik Black, Marcelo Huertas and second-overall pick Brandon Ingram, keeping an eye on what could be $13.6 million in cap room (assuming the team also waives and stretched Nick Young)," Pincus said. "The Lakers do have an unnamed trade target in mind, but are also preserving space for another opportunistic Calderon-like deal."
Despite the description that Pincus mentioned, every time the Lakers and trade is mentioned in the same sentence, superstars are being linked. That is especially true now that two big names are in the trade rumors.
Russell Westbrook is often linked to the Lakers because of his ties to the city and his college, UCLA. DeMarcus Cousins is also a longtime Lakers target, but the teams did not have enough pieces and the Sacramento Kings have also repeatedly declined any trade for him. But both those situations are changing.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder is being plagued by trade rumors on Russell Westbrook despite their strong statement that they are determined to keep him. Last week, the big issue that rocked the Las Vegas Summer League is Russell Westbrook being traded even before the season starts.
If the Lakers did try to trade for a superstar, should they target DeMarcus Cousins or Russell Westbrook? There are good arguments for both, but three reasons stand out for Cousins.
First reason would be D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, two young point guards that the Lakers could build on. They are definitely more important to the team than the centers that the Lakers have (Timofey Mozgov, Ivica Zubac and Tarik Black). If you were to upgrade a position, it should be at center.
Second, trading for DeMarcus Cousins now would help in securing Russell Westbrook in free agency in 2017. Westbrook will be a free agent and by default, the Lakers already have an advantage because Russ is actually an LA guy, but having the chance to team up with probably the best center in the league could sway him further.
In contrast, trading for Westbrook won't help bring Cousins in any way as he is still under contract. Unless you trade Westbrook for Cousins, which doesn't really help.
That is also related to the third reason. Trading for Westbrook now will not guarantee his commitment and the assets used for him could be wasted. Also, there would be more teams interested in Westbrook, free agency notwithstanding, than Cousins and that could drive the price tag higher.
Between the OKC Thunder and Sacramento Kings' front offices, the former is known to cash in on trades. GM Sam Presti is already preparing for the worst case scenario of Westbrook's departure and his mindset is to get the best possible haul. In contrast, the Kings could panic if Cousins makes a trade demand.
It's still important to remind that the trade Pincus is talking about is unlikely to involve these two. But with the crazy offseason, anything is possible already.
