DeMarcus Cousins’ name has suddenly become hot on the NBA trade rumor mill but so far, all have been more on speculations than facts.
Multiple teams have been linked as far as potentially landing Cousins but it appears that there is nothing more than that.
Among the teams that were allegedly interested in dealing for Cousins include that of the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics.
Of those three teams, the Celtics are familiar fixtures since there were rumors prior to the regular season that the Celtics would trade some of their forwards (Kelly Olynk and Jared Sullinger) for the temperamental forward.
According to NBC Sports, there have been no discussions right now between the Celtics and the Kings. With that said, the Celtics have not yet reignited interest on Cousins as we speak.
The same goes for the Bulls and the Heat. The Bulls were are believed to be interested in possibly acquiring “Boogie” Cousins per Sheridanhoops.com and the likely scenario could involve Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson.
Both frontcourt vets have suddenly become expendable but it is more about ridding the Bulls of the hefty contracts that Noah and Gibson carry.
Noah hasn’t been the same player of old for the Bulls while the name of Gibson has been in trade rumors for quite some time now.
The Heat on the other hand is another team that has been mentioned as a possible landing spot though things get a bit complicated.
The target is apparently the rising shot-blocking demon of the Heat, Hassan Whiteside, but a straight up trade will not work. Salary alone is a big difference and if president Pat Riley is indeed interested, it could mean adding other (high salaried) players in the mix.
It does seem interesting why Cousins has suddenly become the center of attention. Though it wasn’t surprising to hear a lot of trade rumors right now, it wasn’t too long ago that Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive made it clear that Cousins wasn’t up for trade.
A trade for the star forward cropped up in the Summer when he and head coach George Karl had some disagreements. But back then, Ranadive did mention that he would rather fire Karl than see Cousins go per ESPN.
Teams can now rid themselves of players who have not been impressive, including the free agents who signed before the season started. That includes even the guaranteed ones in the mix though it does seem unexpected to find Cousins being the subject of trade rumors.