DeMarcus Cousins (Photo : Getty Images/Ezra Shaw)
DeMarcus Cousins is up for the taking. This is on the mind of many basketball insiders following the Kings' decision to select two big men in last month's NBA Draft. More so, Cousins' rapport with the Kings' front office is believed to be in an all-time low after expressing his frustrations about their latest moves.
Lakers will strike once Cousins hit the market: Despite stressing over and over again that they have no plans breaking their young core, the Lakers are still expected to be one of the teams lining up for Cousins, who is arguably the best center in the NBA.
The Lakers, with all the shortcomings in free-agency the past three years, have put up a nice collection of young talents with immense upside.
D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson could all end up in an All-Star team down the road, but the Lakers' itch to return to title contention could compel its front office to pull off a trade for a superstar, no matter how costly the trade would be.
Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics are expected to spice up the competition for Cousins' service, but many basketball insiders believes it will all boil down to the Lakers and Celtics because of their pool of enticing young prospects.
Kevin Durant thinks Ingram little better than him as incoming rookie: Ingram, the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, might have just received the highest compliment from a childhood idol following Durant's comment about him a 'little farther' at this particular stage of his career.
Ingram, who is drawing comparison to Durant because of his striking similarity in their stature and style of play, spent the past few days practicing with Durant and the rest of the Rio Olympics-bound team USA in Las Vegas.
Asked on what he thinks of Ingram, Durant said that matching up with Ingram feels like looking a spitting image of his own self, though he admitted the Duke Blue Devils standout is a bit better in putting the ball on the floor and creating a shot for himself, skills which he developed in later part of his career.
"He's a little bit more fluid than I was, as far as skill-wise, a little more advanced than I was at that time. I was just running, jumping, shooting threes," Durant said of Ingram via Lakers Nation. "But, he could put the ball on the floor, change directions, get to the rim, shoot the pull-up three, so that stuff started to come a little later on for me, but he's a little farther along than I was."
Ingram will have another shot at making a good impression against Durant when the US-Select team tests the mettle of Team USA in an exhibition match this weekend.
