Sacramento Kings' DeMarcus Cousins (Photo : Reuters)
The Sacramento Kings are planning to trade DeMarcus Cousins to the Denver Nuggets for Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried or their sixth overall pick in the coming NBA Draft next week, according to Fansided's Michael Saenz.
This speculation arose after reports came out that new Kings head coach George Karl wants to have his old Nuggets point guard to run his team in Sacramento, as per NBC Sports' Pro Basketball Talk. The Kings are said to be willing to trade their no. 6 first-rounder for the chance to acquire Lawson.
But Saenz took it a notch higher by reporting the recent rumor that franchise center Cousins and dynamic forward Faried could also be included in the transaction.
This trade makes sense for both squads as they virtually swapped coaches with Karl going to Sacramento and Mike Malone signing in Denver.
Allegedly, Karl wants to have as many of his former players with him to be able to play his usual run-and-gun, up-tempo kind of basketball. He needs Faried to become the rebounding demon that he is for Sacramento to effectively start a fast break anchored on Lawson.
This strategy would not be as effective with Boogie as he is more inclined to post up and work his way inside to earn his points.
Meanwhile, Malone insisted during his introductory press conference that he is unwilling to change his coaching philosophy of a half-court oriented, deliberate game, something which Cousins have thrived in for so many years. Additionally, Cousins apparent good relationship with Malone would make Boogie happy to join the Nuggets anytime.
Malone's setup-style offense will not click with Lawson and Faried. Both players need the wide open space of a running game to effectively use their specific skill sets.
