This would be pretty funny if the Lakers were able to manage it trading away Clarkson, Randle, 2# and a future pick. The cap space they would inherit to what they would be giving up would be a disaster. Kobe alone accounts for 25M next season + 5M for Nick Young + 1M for Sacre + 2M for Ryan Kelly = 33Mil. On top of that add the 15M for Boogie and you're at 48Mil with 5 roster spots filled and you need 13. They would have 18-20Mil in free space to get fill out a roster without a legit point guard, a wing, and a legit center.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Going against Woj is scary and almost always ends poorly, but I'm still being told Demarcus Cousins is not in any trade discussions.</p>— Brett Poirier (@BrettNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrettNBA/status/613906547278802944">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vlade Divac in a text when asked if the Kings are planning to trade DeMarcus Cousins: "Nope."</p>— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) <a href="https://twitter.com/mr_jasonjones/status/613935688212353024">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If Sacramento can get #2 and Randle and dump Landry's contract along with DeMarcus that's a no-brainer for Sacramento and stupid of the Lakers. If this goes down, it will most likely will go down with #2, Randle, plus a contract (Nick Young) from the Lakers to Sacramento. The reason being the Lakers most likely want to try to sign another max free agent before trading for DeMarcus. If they simply trade for DeMarcus into their cap space, they do not have the remaining cap space to go get Love or some other max free agent. Conversely, if they sign another max free agent before completing the DeMarcus trade....then they don't have the cap space to fold DeMarcus into a cap space trade...they've got to drum up $10.9 million in outgoing salary. The #2 pick is $4,252,600, the #27 pick is $963,000. At 120% of this scale they're still $4.6 million short. So they've both got to settle on Nick Young going to Sacramento or going elsewhere. Or the Lakers have to waive and stretch Young and send Ryan Kelly out with #2, #27, and Randle. So, if a trade goes down....it will most likely be after the Lakers signed somebody else and it will be after the Lakers draft and sign their draft picks.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">5th-year comparisons: Webber: 21.9 pts, 9.5 rebs, 3.8 asts, 1.7 blks 1.6 stls Cousins: 24.1 pts, 12.7 rebs, 3.6 asts, 1.7 blks, 1.5 stls</p>— Blake Ellington (@BlakeEllington) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlakeEllington/status/613934731214753792">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Kings bargaining power has been lowered by the feud between Karl and Cousins. Eventually they will take the best deal possible IMO.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trail Blazers fear losing LaMarcus Aldridge, who is thinking more and more about free-agent jump to Lakers. <a href="http://t.co/GFdOW8FZI1">http://t.co/GFdOW8FZI1</a></p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/613937129303994368">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
[Medina] NBA source just told me Kings are leaning toward not trading Cousins tomorrow and instead focus on draft (twitter.com)
Trading one of the two best bigs in the world, especially at his age, isn't by any means a no-brainer. Cousins will be one of the all-time great bigs if he keeps it up, there's no way of telling how the #2 pick pans out. Towns will be #1, so your hopes of drafting a great defensive big are gone. Pairing Randle with Okafor would be comedy on the defensive end. PGs aren't that hard to get via FA or trades, so using the #2 on a PG likely won't be a game changer.
They don't have to make any move though.....if someone wants Boogie now they need to bend over and grab their ankles. It's the only way you get a player of his caliber with 3 years left under contract.
between cousins, love, butler, wade, and now LMA, the fakers have an embaressment of riches as far as people reporting players that are already almost on their roster
See....it's all bull**** twitter rumors. Lakers probably tried to acquire him and the Kings probably shot them down.
It may be BS rumors, but just because somebody denies it, it doesn't mean that the reports have no validity.
For the Kings, the three way deal with the Magic makes more sense. Magic get #2, Randle and maybe future Kings pick Kings get #5 and Vucevic Lakers get Cousins If the Kings landed Porzingis, then flipped their #6 pick and some other part for Lawson, they could have a lineup of Lawson-McClemore-Gay-Porzingis-Vuc for the next few years. That is a much better roster to build around than their current crappy roster.
