Demarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Potential Kings Sale Could Impact Trades

January 10th, 2013 at 5:31pm CST by Sean Highkin

On Wednesday, Yahoo! Sports reported that the Maloof family was in talks to sell the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle-based ownership group led by investor Chris Hansen. While the status of the deal is still up in the air, Grantland's Zach Lowe examines how the potential sale could affect the Kings' willingness to make trades as the deadline approaches.

Lowe writes that executives around the league believe the Kings will still be willing trade partners, despite the complications that may arise in the event of an ownership transfer. He believes there is a unanimous belief within the organization that DeMarcus Cousins, despite his recent troubles, is considered off-limits in any trade discussions.

The three players beyond Cousins that Lowe points to as potential pieces the Kings could move are Tyreke Evans, Jason Thompson, and Francisco Garcia. Lowe suggests that these and other players could be turned into a package for Rudy Gay.

Lowe also speculates about the status of Evans, who is headed to restricted free agency after the 2012/13 season. He writes that Evans may have a similar experience in free agency to that of O.J. Mayo, who signed a two-year contract with the Mavericks when no long-term deal presented itself.

Odds & Ends: Knicks, Cousins, Fernandez, Cavs

January 10th, 2013 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers and Trail Blazers head into today having each won 11 of their last 14 contests, but both teams will be in for tough matchups at home tonight, as the Knicks arrive in Indiana and the Heat play in Portland. As we look forward to what should be a fun TNT doubleheader, let's check in on a few afternoon links from around the NBA:

While the Knicks have inquired on Kenyon Martin, they won't make a decision on the free agent big man one way or another until they determine Rasheed Wallace's timetable, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
One NBA team executive predicts to Ian Thomsen of SI.com that if DeMarcus Cousins becomes available, there won't be as much interest as there might have been in the past. "We do all of this research and background work on players now before we draft them," said the exec. "I think half of the consideration when we look at players now is trying to understand who these guys are as people. I really do think that most teams are going to say they don't want any part of him."
Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News thinks that the Lakers should trade Dwight Howard for Dirk Nowitzki. However, even if the Lakers were interested in such a move, which seems extremely unlikely, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wouldn't be, as he tells David Baumann of Sports Talk Florida: "No knock on Dwight, I just won't trade Dirk" (Twitter link).
Although he signed a three-year deal overseas this past offseason, Rudy Fernandez isn't ruling out an eventual return to the NBA, writes CNN.com's Paul Gittings.
The Cavaliers should attempt to make a play for Rudy Gay, suggests Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post wonders if Wilson Chandler's return to the Nuggets lineup could lead to a trade, either of Chandler or another player.

DeMarcus Cousins Talks Reputation, Kings, Future

January 8th, 2013 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

When DeMarcus Cousins hired Dan Fegan as his new agent, the assumption, given Fegan's reputation, was that the big man wanted out of Sacramento. But so far, neither the player or the team has given any indication that such an option is being considered. Fegan met with Geoff Petrie yesterday, but reportedly didn't request a trade for his client. And according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, the Celtics, Bobcats, Hawks, Wizards, and Mavericks were all recently rebuffed when they inquired about Cousins' availability.

Mannix spoke to the 22-year-old about playing in Sacramento and the reputation he has developed, and Cousins had a number of interesting things to say. Here are a few of the highlights from the conversation:

On the public perception of Cousins:

"I'm not going to sit here and say I'm innocent, because I've done things. But to get the reputation that I've got, I don't think I've done enough. I don't have a criminal record. Some of the guys with the cleanest image in the league have a record. I don't think I was given a fair chance. I don't know what I did in college that was so bad to get that reputation. Okay, there is footage of me and Coach Cal going at each other. That happens in sports. Coming into the league, everyone said I was going to be fat, I was the next Oliver Miller. I had all these red flags. I just feel I was never given a fair chance coming in."

On the Kings' perception of Cousins when they drafted him in 2010:

"They wanted to get to know me but they were scared because of my reputation. I felt like it was bad on their part. I'm your player and you don't take the time to get to know me? You just go by what the rest of the world says?"

On whether the Kings always have his back now:

"I'm still not [given a chance]. It flip flops. When everything is good, [the organization] is good. When things go bad, there is nothing about that good person they remember. I just want that balance. You are either with me or you're not."

On the Kings' request that he seek counseling:

"I took it as an insult. That's another thing, our organization doesn't even know me. They were looking for an excuse. I don't believe that is the way to solve issues. I'm an emotional guy. It's as simple as that."

On trying to move on after his recent suspension:

"I can't sit here and say I'll never do anything again. This is a frustrating sport. There are a lot of emotions involved. It's easier said than done to just come in and be a professional. I can't sit here and say nothing will happen again because I would be lying. I really don't know. But at the same time I'm not going to go out of my way to cause an incident or a ruckus. I want to make things right."

On his desire to remain with the Kings and help turn things around:

"That's like a trophy to me. Taking a team no players really want to go to, a team considered the worst in the league, and through all the struggle and all the negativity, they found the way to win. I want to put Sacramento back on the map. I want to be an instrumental part of things changing here."

Odds & Ends: Kaman, Fredette, Beverley

January 7th, 2013 at 11:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Kaman, making $8MM this year as one of many Mavs on a one-year contract, told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida that he wants to return to Dallas next year, but he isn't sure whether the team will have him. Kaman's preference is for long-term contracts (Sulia links). "Nobody wants to do a one-year deal," he said. "If anybody prefers, they would do a long-term deal if they felt comfortable in the situation. So everybody kind of is just trying together to be a team. I think sometimes that creeps in. 'I’m in this one-year deal, I better play good.' It’s not that it’s selfish but it’s just a lot of pressure for a player." The handful of players without fully guaranteed contracts who got the ax today probably wouldn't mind a one-year deal right now, but it's all relative in the NBA. Here's more from around the Association.

DeMarcus Cousins isn't the only member of the Kings off-limits in trade talks, as USA Today's Sam Amick hears the team is not making Jimmer Fredette available, either.
The final two seasons of Patrick Beverley's three-year contract with the Rockets are team options, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
The Rockets signed Greg Smith to a similar deal 11 months ago, and he's become a significant contributor off the bench this season, as Feigen examines.
Mike James will sign his 10-day pact with the Mavs on Tuesday, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link).
Wolves GM David Kahn doesn't think the team's most pressing need is another big man, even with Kevin Love sidelined, and said he's having difficulty getting other GMs to engage in serious trade talk with the deadline still more than six weeks away. Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune has the details.
The Wolves are still keeping an eye on Mickael Gelabale, but other teams may have stronger interest, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Chris Andersen's "ancillary issues" aren't a concern for the Heat, who will bring him in for a workout Tuesday, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Winderman is presumably referring to Andersen's legal troubles last year.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Cousins, Virginia Beach

January 7th, 2013 at 9:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard both deny a report that they engaged in a "heated exchange" after a loss last week, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. They and coach Mike D'Antoni had some fun with it, though, posing for a photo of a mock duel between the two superstars that Bryant posted on his new Twitter account. It might be considered gallows humor for the Lakers, who sit at 15-18, but at least they're a step up from the Kings, who are 13-21 and have endured their share of reports about locker room dissent, too. Here's the latest on a pair of intriguing, if not winning, teams.

Dan Fegan, the new agent for DeMarcus Cousins, met with Kings GM Geoff Petrie today, but Fegan didn't ask that his client be traded, USA Today's Sam Amick reports (Twitter links). The Kings continue to insist they're not interested in any Cousins swap.
Today was the deadline that Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms set for securing an arena deal, but an announcement of whether the funding has been secured won't come until tomorrow, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The mid-Atlantic city is rumored to be in pursuit of the Kings.
Despite a rash of injuries to their big men, the Lakers have no immediate plans for the roster spot they opened up by waiving Darius Johnson-Odom today, tweets HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler, who points out the free space gives them added flexibility in case they make a trade down the line.
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com poses five key questions for the Lakers, and believes that if the team isn't right around .500 come February, there will be significant changes to the roster.
Zach Lowe of Grantland.com ponders the implications of the once-unthinkable prospect of the Lakers missing the playoffs this year.

Odds & Ends: Pargo, Celtics, Gordon, Carlesimo

January 7th, 2013 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

With the contract guarantee deadline looming and the 10-day-contract period underway, there have been plenty of roster moves made around the NBA today. We don't want to let anything slip through the cracks though, so while we await word of the next signing or cut, we'll check out a few odds and ends:

Jannero Pargo is drawing fresh interest from multiple teams and is talking about a potential 10-day contract with two of them, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
Sources tell Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Marcin Gortat are all potential trade targets for the Celtics. Gortat makes more sense to me than the other two, who seem like long shots for Boston.
Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld speculates that Andrea Bargnani could be another possible target for the Celtics. The HoopsWorld scribe also writes that Eric Gordon is talking like someone who expects to be with the Hornets long-term.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com questions how the Celtics could possibly acquire Cousins without giving up Rajon Rondo, and explores the trade rumors surrounding Gay.
Nets head coach P.J. Carlesimo appeared on WFAN in New York last week to discuss shedding the interim tag and working for Mikhail Prokhorov, among other topics. Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews has the quotes.

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Lakers, Gasol, Suns

January 7th, 2013 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Celtics roster moves yesterday led to some speculation that the team was clearing room for a bigger deal, but according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link), Jarvis Varnado and Kris Joseph were destined to be cut regardless, since the C's didn't want to pay the luxury tax on those deals. That means, as we heard yesterday from Sam Amick of USA Today, that the Celtics likely aren't close to any sort of deal for DeMarcus Cousins or anyone else. Here are a few more Monday morning links on Cousins and a handful of other Pacific Division topics:

Bucher notes that it still seems as if Cousins isn't available, but if that stance changes, the Kings may want to try to package him with a bad salary or two.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reiterates (via Twitter) that there's "no chance" of Cousins being dealt to the Celtics.
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard got into a "heated exchange" after a loss on New Year's Day. However, multiple reporters, including Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com (Sulia link) and Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link), say there's nothing to the story.
Whether or not the two Lakers stars were involved in any sort of altercation, Howard believes the team needs to improve its chemistry on and off the court, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes.
Acknowledging that he has been disappointed with the Lakers' performance so far this season, GM Mitch Kupchak suggested that establishing Pau Gasol's role is a top priority. "I think Pau continues to struggle to figure out how he's going to play with his group," Kupchak said, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. "Our coaches are struggling as well. We're not going to succeed as a team until we figure that out."
The Suns have no untouchable players and will likely be very open to participating in trades as February's deadline approaches, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.

Celtics Waive Joseph And Varnado, Blockbuster In The Works?

January 6th, 2013 at 10:35pm CST by Ryan Raroque

10:35pm: Sam Amick of USA Today says that "Cousins is not going to the Celtics" and that teams who have been asking about his availability continue to being rebuffed (Twitter link).

7:08pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) says that while nothing is imminent, Boston is one team to keep an eye on around the trade deadline.

6:51pm: Blakely writes that although it's unlikely that Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, or Paul Pierce will be moved, there has been "growing" interest in Courtney Lee, who may be expendable with the return of Avery Bradley to the Celtics' lineup. Blakely also mentions forward Brandon Bass as another player who could possibly be on the move.

6:45pm: A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets that the decision to waive Joseph and Varnardo may have opened the door to what could be a blockbuster deal, according to a league source. One name that has repeatedly been mentioned in speculative trade talk has been Kings' center DeMarcus Cousins (Twitter link).

5:10pm: While rounding up today's list of waived players, ESPN's Marc Stein also tweeted that forward Kris Joseph and center Jarvis Varnado had both been waived by the Celtics today.

The 6'7 Joseph had been selected by Boston as the 51st pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, appearing in six games this season and averaging 1.2 PPG in 4.0 MPG. Varnado had only played in five games, averaging 1.2 PPG in 3.6 MPG.

With the roster now at 13, ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg speculates that the Celtics could target a veteran big man and a backup ball-handling guard to fill the two newly created roster spots. Forsberg also mentions that those potential moves could depend on the big man's asking price.

Western Notes: Bryant, Love, Ibaka, Cousins

January 5th, 2013 at 7:03pm CST by Michael Pina

Kobe Bryant is one of the most confident players in the NBA, but as the Lakers have struggled this season, Bryant has expressed self-doubt about his own play, writes InsideSoCal.com's Mark Medina.

Al Jefferson talks to Star Tribune reporter Jerry Zgoda about Kevin Love's tenure and future with the Timberwolves.
On NBA.com, Serge Ibaka's offense is given its proper due.
DeMarcus Cousins and Kings head coach Keith Smart have had their share of difficulties over these last few weeks. But SheridanHoops.com reporter Moke Hamilton reports that Smart is putting those difficulties behind him.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Magic, Vucevic, Carlesimo

January 4th, 2013 at 9:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach and former Knicks boss Mike D'Antoni was a little thrown by Amare Stoudemire's recent assertion that he was never taught defense before this year, as Newsday's Al Iannazzone documents. D'Antoni, who coached Stoudemire in New York and Phoenix, said he didn't think Stoudemire meant to be malicious, but still found the comment "mind-boggling" and implied that Stoudemire threw him and his assistant coaches with the Knicks under the bus. Here's more from around the Eastern Conference.

We heard earlier today that the Magic, unsurprisingly, will not try to sign Dwight Howard in the offseason, and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports that the team isn't interested in acquiring fellow Dan Fegan client DeMarcus Cousins, either.
Schmitz also writes that Nikola Vucevic is off the market unless a team "blows away" the Magic with a proposal (and a Cousins offer wouldn't qualify). Still, Schmitz wonders if Orlando could swap him for a marquee talent when he gets closer to the end of his rookie deal in 2015.
HoopsWorld's Yannis Koutroupis checks in with Nets interim coach and former Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo, who has admiration for the San Antonio model but doesn't think it's one that can be applied in Brooklyn.
In a video attached to the same piece, Nets swingman MarShon Brooks, who's been seeing more playing time under Carlesimo, predictably gives the coach his stamp of approval, and brushes off trade rumors.
Former Raptors small forward Gary Forbes had his sights set on an eventual return to the NBA when he signed with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in China in November, but his next move will be to Puerto Rico, where he'll play for Atleticos de San German, reports Manolo Rodriguez of Tiro Al Blanco (translation via Sportando).