The Sacramento Kings won’t be trading DeMarcus Cousins anytime soon—depending, of course, on how you define “soon.”
Here’s the team’s general manager Vlade Divac on the DeMarcus Cousins situation, per Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 in Sacramento:
Kings GM Vlade Divac was asked about trading DeMarcus Cousins today after the presser. 'He's not going to be traded – this year for sure'
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) May 10, 2016
“This year” is pretty ambiguous terminology.
Does Divac mean he won’t be traded at all during the 2016-17 season, Cousins’ first under newly announced head coach Dave Joerger? Or does he simply mean he won’t be traded for the rest of 2016, in which case he could still be moved ahead of next season’s deadline, sometime in February 2017?
As always, when it comes to the Kings and DeMarcus Cousins, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Though, if the Kings are smart, they should deliver a verdict on this situation sooner rather than later. Cousins will be a free agent in 2018, so trying to trade him after this upcoming crusade, when he only has one year left on his deal and is a patented flight risk, won’t be easy.
There will be takers, sure. But few franchises will be open to mortgaging their present and future for a player who can leave in a few months time. Cousins can always commit to his new organization in that situation, taking the guesswork out of the equation, but that’s not guaranteed.
Should the Kings decide to cut bait with Cousins before next season’s trade deadline, though, they’ll have an easier time capitalizing on his value as one of the game’s 20 best players.
