The Cleveland Cavaliers are the NBA champions but they keep getting involved in NBA trade rumors as people believe they need a true center instead of Kevin Love.
The main target remains to be DeMarcus Cousins, currently playing for Team USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics. He has shown what he can do on a good team as opposed to the six years of mediocrity that he has experienced with the Sacramento Kings.
With the aura of positive vibes in Team USA (even though they went through three close games) Cousins shared a hopeful outlook on the Kings with Tim Cato of SB Nation.
"I believe it's well known that in the past, we haven't been where we've wanted to be," Cousins said. "I'm confident that we're going to move forwards and make the right step. I believe we're on the right track now. It's just about us coming together and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together."
Despite the declaration of hope, pundits in the NBA would be quick to shoot down his optimism, similar to an "expectations vs reality" meme. The common impression was that the Kings did not improve much as a team in the offseason while their competitors in the West made gradual steps. Bottom line is that a playoff appearance is not in the cards for Sacramento.
This is the reason why Aaron Ferguson kept suggesting on King James Gospel that their Cleveland Cavaliers amp up the pursuit of the NBA's best center.
"His fit on the Cavaliers could be as a center on the defensive end and as a power forward on the offensive end," Ferguson wrote. "Cousins is perfect for ball-screens, pick-and-rolls with the ability to hit a jumper and posting up. He is the perfect player to have alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, who thrive working off of the pick-and-roll."
This is no longer a question. Cousins would be great on the Cavs-and most other teams in the league. In a winning environment and with strong leaders like LeBron James around him, Boogie can be focused and when he is, there aren't too many people who can stop him.
There were rumors that Kyrie Irving was already doing work to bring Boogie into the Cavs fold. We wouldn't know about all the conversations happening in Rio. What we do know is the Miami Heat Big Three was a plan forged in Beijing in 2008.
The Cavs have already made a call to Sacramento about Boogie and it's likely they may do so again. Perhaps a bigger offer is in the cards since now they know that Cousins is worth it.