A wild trade scenario was recently suggested that the Los Angeles Lakers should send two of their young core players, D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, to Sacramento in exchange for the Kings' franchise big man DeMarcus Cousins to finally bring back a potential legendary center to their fold next season.
The Lakers, who are known to have won their NBA titles on the grounds of having dominant centers except maybe during Kobe Bryant's final two championships, had been reported to be targeting Cousins since last year.
There were even reports that the Lakers and Kings had already negotiated for a potential trade involving the two-time NBA All-Star last summer with the latter asking for Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and the team's second overall selection that time, which turned out to be Russell.
George Karl was still head coach in Sacramento then and his willingness to part ways with Boogie even stirred animosity between coach and player, which eventually led to the firing of Karl last April.
Hoops Habit noted that "a year later, it seems like Cousins' trade value has dipped a little and Sacramento doesn't have too much leverage" anymore. The main reason for this is the somehow impressive rookie season of Russell amidst the Kobe-retirement fanfare, and so the Kings are said to be "very high" on the former Ohio State point guard.
The report said that "while Darren Collison is a temporary solution as the starting point guard, the Kings would like an exciting talent like Russell to take charge of a rebuilding team". This is good news for the Hollywood squad as they now have the chance to snag Cousins without having to give up their whole young core.
However, Fansided reported that Sacramento had recently denied rumors that Cousins is currently on the trading block, saying that they are "not entertaining any offers" for the 25-year-old big man at the moment.
Aside from the Lakers, reigning NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers were also allegedly interested in dealing for Cousins.
The Cavs were reportedly ready to include Kevin Love in a trade package to snag Cousins, who may eventually be traded next summer before he sets into unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2018.
