Eastern Rumors: Cousins, Noel, George

DeMarcus Cousins is well aware that many Celtics fans want him in Boston but he hasn’t ruled out signing an extension with the Kings, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports. Cousins, who isn’t eligible to hit the free agent market until 2018, told Blakely he would not rule out the possibility of staying with Sacramento long-term. “I got a season and a whole other season,” Cousins said. “I focus on these guys right here; I focus on winning games; I focus on making the playoffs; that’s it.” However, Cousins is unfazed about the constant trade chatter, in which Boston is prominently mentioned as a logical match. “Most of the rumors come from people who want me on their team,” he told Blakely. “It doesn’t bother me.”
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
  • Nerlens Noel isn’t happy about the logjam in the Sixers’ frontcourt, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Noel is skeptical that there will be enough minutes to go around, now that Joel Embiid has established himself, Narducci continues. “I don’t think the roster’s changed,” Noel told Narducci. Noel, sidelined by a knee injury since training camp, returned to the team on Thursday after working out with its D-League affiliate. But coach Brett Brown estimates Noel will miss four or five more games, Narducci adds.
  • Guard Josh Richardson returned to Miami during the Heat’s current three-game road trip to get treatment for his sore ankle, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Richardson suffered the injury against the Celtics on Monday. Miami is already playing without two of its top wings, Justise Winslow and Dion Waiters, due to injuries. “It’s an easy decision for us,” coach Erik Spoelstra told Winderman and other beat writers. “His ankle is really sore. He has a bunch of other little, minor things going on. So we just wanted to go back, get his body right, feel right for the next three days, four days. We’ll reevaluate him then.”
  • Pacers star Paul George plans to return to action on Sunday after missing six of the last seven games with an ankle injury, according to Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star. George feels like his team, which is one game under .500, needs his leadership on the court. “I think just sitting out and watching, I’ve got to get back to being the guy for us,” he told Taylor. “I’ve got to have the trust of the team, I’ve got to have the trust of the organization. This has been my group, this has been my team. I’ve got to get back to that.”
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