More teams are involved in NBA trade rumors targeting DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings.
The buzz around the league is that Cousins is likely to leave the team in free agency in 2018. The onus is on new head coach Dave Joerger to turn them into a playoff team but with the current roster, that would be a mighty challenge.
Zach Harper of CBS relayed the harsh reality of the Cousins' possible departure when he quoted an anonymous league executive.
"They're fooling themselves if they think he's sticking around. 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. Teams will bid against each other in the trade market. Maybe [Cousins] doesn't go for the biggest money in free agency but you'd love to have that card to play."
On that note, Cousins has been linked to a lot of teams like the Boston Celtics, LA Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics can offer the best rebuild package with their Brooklyn Nets picks but if the Kings want to have a possible star to build on, the Washington Wizards can offer a newly-signed Bradley Beal.
In a feature from SB Nation team site Bullets Forever, Ben Becker noted that despite being a trade candidate, Cousins can heavily influence his possible destination.
"While other teams have better asset bases than the Wizards (and many do), no one is trading for Cousins if he doesn't want to go there. Cousins' reputation -- ranging from malcontent to locker room cancer -- makes him a huge risk," Becker pointed out. Cousins' talent level is usually untouchable in the league, but the Kings have failed to keep him at bay and are now at the mercy of his whims.
On the other hand, the teams that would trade for Cousins also need some assurance that he would stay beyond his contract length. They would be giving up serious assets for him so the investment should last for more than just two seasons. In this case, the Wizards need something to entice Cousins to stay and that could be the presence of his college buddy John Wall.
For the Kings, having a rising star like Beal signed to a long-term max contract is a good return for them. They also get to dump other contracts (since Beal makes more money than Cousins). There are also other young assets that the Kings could take (Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre) and first round picks as well.
Still, the deal is for the Wizards to initiate. They stand to gain more and they should actually get to work once the Kings project to flounder again.