There’s still a chance DeMarcus Cousins will stay in the same state. But he might be playing for a different team.
The Sacramento Kings have “exchanged possible frameworks” of a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers centered around Cousins, league sources told Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski late Wednesday night. According to those sources, talks between the teams could “intensify” Thursday.
The potential blockbuster involving the All-Star center would require the Lakers to give the Kings their No. 2 overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft along with forward Julius Randle, guard Jordan Clarkson and “other draft assets,” according to Wojnarowski.
A potential holdup, Wojnarowski writes, is the Lakers have “no intention” of including Randle in a trade for Cousins and also would be hesitant to part with Clarkson.
Another major issue, of course, involves Cousins’ relationship with the Kings’ front office and coaching staff. Reports surfaced earlier this week that Sacramento was pushing hard to deal the 24-year-old, which Kings vice president Vlade Divac later denied.
Cousins also took an apparent shot at coach George Karl on Tuesday, but appeared to strike a different tune when responding to a tweet Wednesday.
[tweet https://twitter.com/boogiecousins/status/613902367671476224 align=’center’]
Wojnarowski added the Lakers hope to strike a deal for Cousins before the draft, as they’d focus on choosing between Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell with their No. 2 if the trade fell through.
Thumbnail photo via Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports Images
