Demarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Listening To Offers On Cousins

December 24th, 2012 at 12:59pm CST by Sean Highkin

12:59pm: The Kings have reinstated Cousins from his suspension, the team announced (via Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter).

10:19am: After a tumultuous week in which he was suspended indefinitely by the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he wants to stay in Sacramento. Following his suspension and the firing of his agent this week, speculation has begun as to whether the third-year center is demanding a trade. However, although he has privately voiced his frustrations with the Kings organization, Amick writes that Cousins has yet to formally demand a trade.

Cousins is no longer considered untouchable in trade talks, Amick writes. At this point, however, the Kings are not actively shopping him as much as they are listening to offers. Although the fifth overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft is coveted by several teams, his recent behavior has resulted in his trade value declining around the league. Amick names the Pistons, Rockets, and Nuggets as teams that have had interest in trading for Cousins in the past.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets that teams around the league would be open to exploring trades for Cousins, but are not interested in giving up valuable assets for him. He also adds that the Nets and Rockets, two teams known to have had interest in Cousins in the past, are no longer pursuing him.

Odds & Ends: Cousins, Rockets, Humphries

December 23rd, 2012 at 9:48pm CST by Zachary Links

With one game still in progress from tonight's docket, let's take a look around the Association..

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee notes that the Rockets have had interest in Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins in the past. However, Houston may not want to take on the troubled center at the cost of breaking up what they already have in place. James Harden & Co. are two games above .500 and riding a three game winning streak.
It would not surprise Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) to see the Nets try and deal forward Kris Humphries and two-guard MarShon Brooks. The early returns on tonight's poll concerning Hump's future in Brooklyn show that 85% of Hoops Rumors readers see the Nets shopping him prior to the deadline. Humphries cannot be traded until January 15th.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle watched a Texas Legends game in order to check out Jared Cunningham and wound up coming away impressed by Chris Douglas-Roberts, who signed with the club earlier today, tweets Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com. The arrival of CDR meant that Dallas had to let Derek Fisher go after his short stint with the club.
The Knicks may be "stuck" with Amare Stoudemire, but Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld doesn't necessarily see that as a bad thing. The forward was reportedly offered around the league for next-to-nothing this summer but there were no takers due to his contract and injury woes.
With Fisher gone, now could be the time for Rodrigue Beaubois to steal the spotlight for the Mavericks, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. The 6'0" guard has been mentioned as a trade candidate this season.

Latest On DeMarcus Cousins

December 23rd, 2012 at 9:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Speculation about the future of DeMarcus Cousins is mounting after yesterday's news that the Kings have suspended him indefinitely following his run-in Friday night with Kings coach Keith Smart. The Kings are becoming increasingly concerned about Cousins, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets, and the team reportedly isn't completely closed off to the idea of trading him. Teammates feel as though Cousins has not matured into the better communicator he has talked about becoming, Jones reports, adding that many of them have passed the ball to Cousins during games simply because they haven't wanted to endure one of his tirades if he feels he's being overlooked.

Still, GM Geoff Petrie maintains the Kings are committed to Cousins, and as the Bee's Ailene Voisin writes, the Kings don't want to trade Cousins.

"It's not something that just showed up yesterday, last year or two years ago or five years ago," the GM said. "But he's our player so we want to work with him to get past this so he can be what everyone sees as possible."

If the Kings do shop Cousins at some point, Marc Stein of ESPN.com believes the Heat could have interest, given team president Pat Riley's prior success with troubled players (Twitter link). Yet Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel doesn't think the Heat would break up their championship core to acquire Cousins, and figures the Kings would want young players and draft picks, assets Miami doesn't possess. Yesterday, more Hoops Rumors readers identified the Celtics as the best potential suitor for Cousins than any other team. Though Cousins could certainly shore up Boston's rebounding, and the Celtics' veterans might be able to keep him in line, I'm not sure C's team president Danny Ainge is prepared to rip up his squad's foundation, despite Boston's slow start.

Best Potential Suitor For Cousins?

December 22nd, 2012 at 8:17pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Whether or not the Kings' long-term plans involve DeMarcus Cousins, the team will eventually have to address the topic. Last season, just a few days after then-head coach Paul Westphal had barred Cousins from being with the team, Westphal had been fired in what some believed was management's way of resolving the issue of them not getting along. After a recent clash with current coach Keith Smart and a suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, one could only wonder how Sacramento will try to handle this situation moving forward. Also, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com also points out that Cousins' decision to sever ties with agent John Grieg poses some significance, as Grieg was known to be somewhat of a good buffer between Cousins and Smart (Twitter link).

Similar to how Javale McGee and Andray Blatche have demonstrated in their respective post-Wizards careers, a change in scenery can possibly be beneficial for a young player who may not be in a situation that fits him best. In the event that the Kings were looking for a deal, which team would be the best suitor for Cousins?

Odds & Ends: Cousins, Thunder, Vesely, Morris

December 22nd, 2012 at 6:16pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In addtion to Steve Nash's Lakers debut tonight, another major talking point in the Pacific Division involves the Kings' suspension of DeMarcus Cousins. According to Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today, a source close the team's plans says that the former Kentucky big man isn't untouchable. Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM feels that Sacramento and the Magic would benefit by exploring trade talks, as both have pieces that could help the other side (Twitter link). Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops also weighed in, offering four different scenarios in which the Kings could deal the fourth-year player. With that aside, here are some of the other notable stories we're hearing from the NBA this evening:

Jim Eichenhoffer of Hornets.com tweets that Eric Gordon has been cleared for full contact practice.
Jenni Carlson of NewsOK believes that dealing James Harden to Houston has made the Thunder a better and more fluid team, pointing to the significant increase in assist numbers by Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Jan Vesely has yet to earn a consistent role during a turbulent start to his second-year campaign with the struggling Wizards, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. “It’s tough, especially when the team is losing,” Vesely said of his current role. “Everybody try to stay positive but sometimes it’s hard. I try to practice everyday, work on my game and stay ready for my chance to play.”
Darius Morris may not be ready for a starting job, but Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times writes about how the Lakers' sophomore guard has found a significant role in Mike D'Antoni's rotation (Sulia link).
Two years ago and just months removed from "The Decision", Jazz guard Mo Williams (then with Cleveland) and Heat superstar LeBron James may not have necessarily been on each other's holiday greetings list. Today, Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune notes how the two former teammates had nothing but glowing remarks to say about each other heading into tonight's matchup between Utah and Miami.

Odds & Ends: Kings, Van Gundy, Howard, Louisville

December 18th, 2012 at 6:54pm CST by Alex Lee

The Kings, currently 7-17, will be a team to watch as the season progresses. Yesterday, there were some contradictory reports as to whether the team would deal Tyreke Evans, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason. Earlier this month, we heard that DeMarcus Cousins, despite his third-year struggles, will not be made available. Asked about the possibility of the Celtics acquiring Evans and/or Cousins today, CSNNE's A. Sherrod Blakely tweeted that while the talented duo isn't yet available, that will likely change.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the League:

Stan Van Gundy talks about his grievances with commissioner David Stern, his disagreements with the Magic front office, and his continued communication with Dwight Howard, among other topics, with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca on Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast.
Speaking of Howard, the Lakers center will be a free agent next summer. But HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler gave an emphatic "no" when asked on Twitter whether Howard would entertain a return to the Magic.
Writing for Forbes, Darren Heitner says that although the idea has initially been met with skepticism, Louisville should be near the top of the list for the next city to get an NBA team. Using the highly profitable University of Louisville basketball program as an example, Heitner says that Louisville is a "basketball city in a basketball state."

Western Rumors: Cousins, Brown, Iguodala, Fisher

December 6th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Chuck Myron

A matchup of fourth-place teams, as the Mavs travel to take on the Suns, is the only Western Conference tilt on a two-game night in the NBA, but the action off the court is much juicier. We delivered the latest on the Pau Gasol saga earlier this morning, and now here's more from the West.

Slumping as he begins his third season, DeMarcus Cousins is nonetheless coveted by several teams around the league, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, who adds that the Kings remain uninterested in trading the 22-year-old center.
Mike Brown, still owed $10MM from the Lakers after the team let him go just five games into the season, tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that he'll eventually get back into coaching, but is in no rush.
Andre Iguodala, who can exercise an early-termination option this summer, is a safer bet to remain with the Nuggets than Carmelo Anthony was as his deal neared an end, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com, after examining all the other options, believes the Mavs' signing of Derek Fisher was sound (Insider only).
The Blazers have already declined their 2013/14 option on Luke Babbitt, but they might have to give him another look as an unrestricted free agent next summer now that he's jumped into the rotation, observes Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
Rockets interim coach Kelvin Sampson reached out to Carlos Delfino during the summer and touted the ability for the Argentinian swingman to play a significant role with Houston, helping convince him to sign with the team. Jason Friedman of Rockets.com has the details.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Harden, Kings, Carroll

November 17th, 2012 at 3:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies staked their claim to a place among the NBA's elite teams this week with wins over the Heat, Thunder and previously unbeaten Knicks. That has the USA Today, and no doubt others, wondering if Memphis is the best team in the league. It's probably premature to anoint them as such after just eight games, but with Zach Randolph looking fully healthy again, they're certainly a squad worth keeping an eye on. Here's the latest on a few teams trying to catch up to them in the Western Conference standings.

Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game offers a contrasting take on the notion that James Harden only had an hour to decide on the Thunder's extension offer, writing that both Harden and his agent, Rob Pelinka, had been aware for four months that Oklahoma City was not going to give Harden the max (Sulia link).
Zach Harper of CBSSports.com details the woes of the 2-7 Kings, but Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee hears the team isn't planning on making any major moves and intends to hold on to Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette for the time being (Twitter link).
Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll, who's on an expiring contract and hadn't seen meaningful minutes for two weeks, told his agent, "I didn't work this hard to be out of the rotation," as Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune documents. His work paid off last night, when he went 6 for 6 and put up 17 points and five rebounds in close to 23 minutes.
New Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said his faith in his offensive system was reinforced by the time he spent coaching Jeremy Lin with the Knicks, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Kings Exercise Options On Cousins, Fredette

October 17th, 2012 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially exercised their 2013/14 team options on DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette, the team announced today in a press release. Option decisions had been due by the end of the month.

"We’re looking forward to seeing DeMarcus and Jimmer play this year and continue to grow, improve and help this team be successful," said Geoff Petrie in the statement released by the club.

Cousins, who is entering his third season, is now in line for a guaranteed salary of about $4.92MM in 2013/14, the final year of his rookie contract. Fredette, meanwhile, had his third-year option picked up, and will make about $2.44MM in '13/14. A year from now, Cousins will be eligible for a long-term extension with Sacramento, while the Kings will hold another team option for 2014/15 on Fredette, worth $3.11MM.

Be sure to follow Hoops Rumors' rookie-contract 2013/14 option tracker to see the latest option decisions as the October 31st deadline approaches.

Kennedy On Veterans, Cousins

October 9th, 2012 at 7:07pm CST by Sean Highkin

Earlier Tuesday, Tracy McGrady signed a deal to play in China. With that in mind, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy takes a look at several veteran players remaining on the market in his latest column:

Josh Howard, Michael Redd, and Leandro Barbosa are two wing players Kennedy points to as among the best available on the market.
Several veteran players, including Mickael Pietrus and Kenyon Martin, are unwilling to sign contracts at the veteran's minimum and are holding out for more money, Kennedy says.
Derek Fisher has been working out with the Lakers recently, but Kennedy points out that he cannot re-sign there until March, after one year has passed since he was traded to the Rockets and waived.
Kennedy suggests that Gilbert Arenas, who appeared in 17 games for the Grizzlies last season, may consider playing in China like McGrady if he cannot find a deal in the NBA.
Also in his column, Kennedy looks at the leadership role third-year center DeMarcus Cousins has been taking on with the Kings in training camp.