The NBA trade rumors about DeMarcus Cousins took quite a turn as the pursued has become the pursuer.
The rumor mill has constantly coughed up scenarios with Cousins ending up on almost any team from the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers to the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.
Hardly any of the NBA pundits believes that Cousins will stay with the Sacramento Kings beyond his existing contract which expires at the end of the 2017-2018 season. This is why it seems wise for the Kings to trade him.
But "wise" is not exactly the word to describe the Kings' front office of late and the team owner has taken an adamant stance to hold on to his prized center. From a marketing standpoint, the "will they or won't they" question keeps them relevant.
Cousins turned the picture around when he declared that he hopes to play with college teammate John Wall-but not with the Wizards as he shared with Candace Buckner of The Washington Post.
"[Do we] talk about playing with one another? Is that your question?" Cousins asked a reporter before he replied. "It's come up."
"We talk about it all the time," Wall said.
Cousins shared in a playful tone. "They're going to all come to Sac,". "Come to Sac!"
Then, he backtracked a bit. "[Wall] wants me [in D.C.]," "Eric (Bledsoe) want us in Phoenix."
"Play with John and Eric again," Cousins concluded, "you never know what will happen. It's the NBA, so hopefully one day he'll be in a Sacramento uniform."
On a serious note, the Kings do not have trade chips to offer for a John Wall, even an Eric Bledsoe aside from Cousins himself. Wall and Bledsoe are still under contract and it's unlikely they choose the Kings over an expected horde of teams making offers.
Which teams have the trade chips to make it happen? The Phoenix Suns could trade Devin Booker for John Wall (not the best fit for Bradley Beal but it could happen) and trade Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and other talents and first round picks for DeMarcus Cousins.
The Denver Nuggets have former Kings coach Mike Malone and a ton of tradeable assets. Sending Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic for Cousins, Jamal Murray and Kenneth Faried for Eric Bledsoe and Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Jameer Nelson for John Wall. The combinations may vary and draft picks will be added but theoretically, they have the assets to get it done.
The Boston Celtics will always be in a conversation for hypothetical scenarios like these. They could even pull it off without sacrificing Al Horford. The Brooklyn Nets picks are likely with the Kings or Wizards though.
This topic was discussed in an ESPN Lockdown radio feature. They note that Cousins is "enabled" in Sacramento similar to LeBron James in Cleveland. However, they are short on the assets.