The Sacramento Kings' leadership seems confused about what to do with mercurial big man DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins. New head coach George Karl has questions about Cousins' commitment--a perception that has dogged him since his lone NCAA season at Kentucky--while team owner Vivek Ranadive remains committed to Cousins as the franchise cornerstone.
There were also reports surfacing on Tuesday that Cousins had asked for a tradeSac a month ago, and that he and Karl had not spoken since April. The dilemma for the Kings is that Cousins is just 24 years old, and last year averaged 24.1 points and 12.7 rebounds a game, but his big numbers haven't translated to wins.
Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divac are saying publicly they're still behind Cousins, but a recent report from Yahoo's Marc Spears contradicts that by claiming there is interest in center JaVale McGee, who played for several seasons under Karl in Denver.
In midst of DeMarcus saga, Kings showing strong interest in free agent C JaVale McGee, a source said. McGee played for George Karl in Denver
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) June 24, 2015
If the situation becomes untenable before Thursday night's draft, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are reportedly very interested in Cousins. The Lakers have plenty of cap space available to absorb Cousins' massive contract, and have major assets in 2014 No. 7 overall pick Julius Randle and the 2015 No. 2 overall pick.
Sacramento could deal Cousins, and turn around and draft this year's top offensive center Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 pick.
The Celtics don't have such a high pick to offer, but can include the No. 16 pick, the No. 28 pick, and several promising young players that are on their roster. The biggest chip they have is combo guard Marcus Smart, who struggled offensively at times but never failed to make his presence felt on the defensive end.
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