NBA free agency has died down quite a bit, but don’t expect rumors involving All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins’ future with the Sacramento Kings to go away anytime soon.
There’s no rush for the Kings to trade Cousins, who has two years left on his contract. Sacramento wants to make it work with him as the foundation of a successful, playoff-caliber roster.
But will it all work out for Cousins in Sacramento?
“They’re fooling themselves if they think he’s sticking around,” a league executive recently told Zach Harper of CBS Sports. “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.”
If the Kings did put Cousins on the market, it wouldn’t be surprising if most of the league entered the bidding.
Even as the center position becomes increasingly less important with the prevalence of small-ball lineups, anyone who averages 26.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game like Cousins did last season is going to be in demand. He’s also in the early stages of his prime at just 26 years old.
The cost to acquire him will be sky-high, of course.
Thumbnail photo via Ed Szczepanski/USA TODAY Sports ImagesÂ
