Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is reportedly being eyed by the Toronto Raptors via a trade and Jonas Valanciunas, Cory Joseph, and Norman Powell are said to be the potential trade pieces to complete the deal.
Trade rumors involving the 26-year-old Cousins is nothing new as the six-year pro had been in the rumor mill since last summer.
The Kings had never advanced to the playoffs in all of Cousins' six years with the squad and Sacramento was rumored to be ready to move on from their franchise player. A speculated trade with the Lakers went out last summer, but team officials, headed by owner Vivek Ranadivé and VP and general manager Vlade Divac, blocked the deal.
It was reported that then head coach George Karl was the mastermind of the trade as the two were rumored to be not getting along well. The trade would have sent Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and the 2015 second overall pick D'Angelo Russell to Sacramento in exchange for Boogie.
However, Karl is no longer with the Kings and trade rumors regarding the two-time NBA All-Star center is still circulating at the moment.
The latest rumor was the trade scenario mentioned above linking Cousins with the Raptors, as reported by Sportsrageous.
The report mentioned that Sacramento's selection of two young seven-footers, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissière, "who can play the same position as Boogie" could be an indication that the club is preparing a blockbuster move involving the Team USA mainstay.
It also cited one league executive who commented that Cousins is set to exit the Kings in the 2018 free-agency if the team will again not be able to qualify to the playoffs this coming season.
"They're fooling themselves if they think he's sticking around," said the unnamed league executive. "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."
This means that Sacramento could maximize the return if they trade Cousins right now.
ESPN's NBA Trade Machine approve of such a deal sending Cousins and Darren Collison to Toronto for Valanciunas, Joseph, and Powell as the salaries match.
Both teams are set to benefit in this trade if the rumors are indeed true. However, it looks like the Kings are still keen on keeping Cousins despite the absence of success in their run with him.