The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly set to pursue Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins in the 2018 free-agency period.
Sportsrageous reported the "very early NBA rumors for the 2018 free agency", saying that the 26-year-old Cousins could be the "next franchise player" for the Mavs with current main man Dirk Nowitzki heading into the twilight years of his career.
Cousins still has two years left in his four-year, $65.6 million deal with the Kings, which will make him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2017-2018 season.
Speculations abound that Cousins will entertain offers from other clubs when that time comes and the Kings will also be looking to trade him before that happens to ensure that they can get maximum value in return for the former Kentucky standout.
Cousins is reportedly considering to join a title-contending squad after playoff-less years of frustrations in Sacramento for the first six years of his career.
The report said that the Kings are concerned they could "suffer the same fate as OKC" when Kevin Durant ditched the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors early in this summer's free-agency, and so Sacramento could avoid it by shopping Cousins as early as today.
Larry Brown Sports indicated that the Mavericks are "expected to go hard" after Cousins in the 2018 free-agency period as Dallas once again try to persuade an elite center to join them.
At the moment, Dallas will have Andrew Bogut at starting center until his deal expires at the end of the season. Nowitzki, who is the team's resident big man for the past 18 seasons is expected to retire before the 2018-2019 season, and so the timing of the Mavs' potential acquisition of Cousins would be ideal.
Cousins is expected to demand an offer close to what Mike Conley and LeBron James received this summer, which would be more than $30 million annually. With Nowitzki presumed to be out of the Mavericks' payroll, Dallas will be able to afford the two-time NBA All-Star by that time.
Cousins is entering the seventh year of his professional career, all with the Kings, this upcoming season. He has never experienced playing in the postseason and Sacramento is reportedly doing everything to make sure the club qualifies to the playoffs this time around.