The Sacramento Kings did not deal DeMarcus Cousins prior to the NBA draft, nor did they fire head coach George Karl. Cousins, the Kings' star player, is believed to be at odds with Karl, a decorated head coach hired just four months ago, and it was widely reported one must go.
Now, much of the dust has settled on free agency, and the team linked to Cousins the most, the Los Angeles Lakers, have agreed to a trade for Pacers center Roy Hibbert. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is said to be staunchly opposed to trading Cousins, and yet, rumors persist that he could still be moved.
Cousins averaged 24.1 points and 12.7 rebounds last season, the best marks of his career. He posted a PER of better than 20 for the fourth consecutive season, and was worth more than three defensive win shares for the second straight year. The Kings drafted Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein with the sixth pick of the 2015 draft, however, and there are reports of the Kings planning to deploy Rudy Gay more often as a power forward.
If the pace-and-space mentality has reached Sacramento, Cauley-Stein makes more sense as a defensive anchor, with Cousins becoming a juicy-but expensive-trade chip for teams still beholden to post presences.
Kings general manager Vlade Divac has said that Gay will play "a lot" of power forward this year, and Sacramento's offseason additions hint at a faster pace. Rajon Rondo, a passing savant, was brought in on a one-year deal. The Kings brought in Marco Belinelli and Omri Cassipi to provide outside shooting and they will join Ben McLemore and Darren Collison, two more quality marksmen.
Trading Cousins remains unlikely, because of Ranadive's affinity for him, and his large contract. If he cannot resolve his personal differences with Karl though, there may be no choice.
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