Team USA center DeMarcus Cousins dunks the ball against China. (Photo : Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors continue to involve DeMarcus Cousins as the Sacramento Kings is a team placed under pressure.
The Kings continue to be firm in their stand not to trade away DeMarcus Cousins. They heaped praise on their prized center after his gold medal performance with Team USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics. It seemed like the team is ready to try a new start with new Head Coach Dave Joerger.
However, Zach Harper of CBS placed a new perspective on the Kings, indicating that the team is actually under pressure because of Cousins' impending free agency at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Harper quoted an anonymous league executive who said that the Kings are "fooling themselves" if they are hoping Cousins will re-sign after his contract ends. Thus, they need to show Cousins that they are capable of winning, at least reaching the playoffs-something Cousins has yet to reach in his entire career with the Kings.
But the same executive also said that "the good news for them is his value will always be high. There isn't a point of no return in which you're not getting high value for him."
On that note, speculation continued for Cousins and new players are starting to join the fold. The usual suspects are always present-the Boston Celtics, the LA Lakers and recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
For the Sacramento Kings, having more options means better returns. The NBA trade rumor mill continues to churn out new combinations and it's difficult to see which ones are really based on actual conversations.
Thus, this rumor that involves the Toronto Raptors should probably be taken with a grain of salt. The root of the rumor appears to be comes from Gospel Herald who did not reference any other source.
The article has a bold claim that the Toronto Raptors has already "swooped in to steal the Team USA star." Beyond that, the basis for the rumor seems loose. They note that the Raptors is a team that fell quite short in the less competitive Eastern Conference and adding Cousins could pull them over the top.
The field for Cousins is wide open at this stage and if we do consider that the Raptors will make a play for Cousins, they may have to send back Jonas Valanciunas, their young, promising Lithuanian starting center. Terrence Ross may also be sent packing along with Cory Joseph since the Kings need a point guard.
Again, the rumor is highly speculative but at this point, anything concerning Boogie is really up in the air. The Kings can try to extend Cousins' tenure perhaps until the deadline and keep listening to offers until they find something suitable.
Despite their public stance that they are not receiving calls for Cousins' offers, it's unlikely that they are not monitoring Cousins' trade value. The Kings already made the mistake of publicly announcing their intention to trade Rudy Gay and as of now, they have failed to get a suitable return. At the very least, they won't make the same error with Cousins.
