Lakers Talk Deal For Cousins With Kings
THURSDAY, 3:15pm: The Lakers are unwilling to part with Julius Randle in the Cousins trade talks, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The scribe adds that Randle has dropped 20 pounds and improved his outside shot.
WEDNESDAY, 10:18pm: The Kings and Lakers have exchanged frameworks for potential deals for Cousins, and talks are expected to intensify on Thursday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays. The Kings have also started to engage with teams and explore possible trade scenarios beyond the Lakers, Wojnarowski’s sources have informed him. Sacramento is reportedly seeking the No. 2 overall pick, Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and other draft assets in return for Cousins, Wojnarowski adds. The Kings would also want to unload forward Carl Landry‘s contract in any deal, according to the Yahoo! scribe’s sources. Los Angeles is currently unwilling to part with Randle, and are reluctant to do so with Clarkson as well, according to Wojnarowski.
3:06pm: Cousins “would not be unhappy” if the Lakers acquired him, a league source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, and he’d be thrilled if the Kings traded him to a large market or a playoff team, as Medina heard a source familiar with Cousins’ thinking.
WEDNESDAY, 2:23pm: The Lakers are offering the No. 2 pick as the teams continue to talk, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. L.A. would probably have to include Randle, too, according to Bresnahan, but it’s not clear if he is indeed in any proposal so far.
TUESDAY, 9:17am: The Magic aren’t involved, a league source tells Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Randle and the No. 2 pick are “in play” for a trade that brings Cousins to the Lakers, a source tells Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his mock draft. Still, Sacramento would rather take back veterans, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported overnight.
4:46pm: Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has also made it clear publicly that he doesn’t want to trade Cousins, and that’s been the case privately as well, according to Jones, as well as Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links).
MONDAY, 3:54pm: The Lakers, Kings and Magic have had exploratory talks about a proposal that wound send DeMarcus Cousins to the Lakers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. However, the Kings and Sacramento vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac continue to insist that Cousins is off limits, Stein notes. Still, the Lakers have “actively pursuing” trade possibilities over the past few weeks to find a way to get the talented 24-year-old to L.A., as Stein details.
Stein mentions the Magic’s Nikola Vucevic as someone who could theoretically step in for Cousins at center in Sacramento, but it’s unclear if Vucevic has been a part of the talks. Stein lists Julius Randle and the No. 2 pick as trade assets for the Lakers, but it’s similarly uncertain whether the Lakers have spoken about giving them up. The Nuggets have drawn increasing mention as a team likely to go after Cousins since Denver’s hiring of ex-Kings coach Michael Malone this month, according to Stein. Still, they don’t have the sort of trade chips that would allow them to compete with the Celtics, whom Stein reported last month were also likely suitors, the ESPN scribe writes. Realistically, a host of teams would seemingly have interest in trading for Cousins, who’d become the top trade candidate on the market if the Kings relent and give him up.
Divac has said time and again that he values Cousins and isn’t looking to trade him, at one point calling him “untradeable.” The notion that he might be on the block was ignited earlier this season amid Sacramento’s pair of midseason coaching changes. Cousins, who connected with Malone, released a statement expressing support for then-candidate George Karl, whom the team has since hired. The Kings also hired Divac late in the season to a role that put him in charge of basketball operations and displaced GM Pete D’Alessandro, who’s now with the Nuggets. Cousins has asked not to be traded, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link).
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Karl Wants Kings To Trade DeMarcus Cousins
THURSDAY, 3:12pm: The Kings’ internal dismay with Karl is coming far more from top exec Vlade Divac than Ranadive, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Meanwhile, all signs currently point to them holding on to the No. 6 pick (link).
1:06pm: Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is frustrated with the Cousins/Karl rift because when he was hired, the coach said he would not be involved in personnel, sources tell Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (on Twitter).
TUESDAY, 2:34pm: Divac, sounding irritated, repeated again that he won’t trade Cousins and denied that Karl is making any push for such a deal, as Divac said to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).
7:30am: George Karl has an intense desire for the Kings to trade DeMarcus Cousins, and he and some members of the team’s front office have expressed to executives and coaches from other teams that they hope to have owner Vivek Ranadive’s blessing to trade the All-Star soon, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Ranadive and vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac have nonetheless been adamant about not trading Cousins, and Karl has been trying to recruit Divac and other Kings players to make a push to convince Ranadive to change his mind, according to Wojnarowski.
Cousins is aware of Karl’s push to trade him, and people around the Kings and Cousins increasingly believe that the relationship between the coach and the team’s star is beyond repair. Cousins tweeted emojis depicting a snake in the grass after Wojnarowski’s story emerged late Monday night.
Karl’s insistence that he can’t get along with Cousins has irritated Ranadive, Wojnarowski writes. Ranadive reiterated his long-held stance that he won’t trade Cousins in an interview Monday with USA Today’s Sam Amick.
“We have zero interest in moving Cousins, so I don’t know where that’s coming from,” Ranadive said in reference to the rumor that the Lakers are pursuing Cousins. “But if you like, you should talk to Vlade, because I know Vlade feels exactly the same way. And I’m deferring to Vlade on everything. We have no interest in moving him. From my perspective, it’s really simple: we feel that he’s a one-of-a-kind player, and we have a group of players right now and we’re going to build on it.”
Kings higher-ups believe it’ll be tough to find value for Cousins and believe they have a better chance to find the right trade for Rudy Gay, according to Wojnarowski. Sacramento is pursuing trades for Gay and the rest of its roster, Wojnarowski hears. The Lakers are reportedly pushing for Cousins and have had exploratory talks with the Kings, but Sacramento would rather take back veterans than the No. 2 overall pick, the Yahoo! scribe writes.
Cousins has privately feared that Karl wanted him out, and Karl’s remark in April that he’s never had one player who would be untradeable didn’t exactly assuage those concerns, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Cousins, who is a Relativity Sports client, and his representatives have been told he won’t be traded, and Cousins likes Sacramento, Jones also tweets. Amick hears a somewhat different story, that Cousins’s camp is clearly in favor of the center becoming a Laker. Cousins has asked not to be traded, according to Jones, so it would seem there are conflicting messages surrounding the talented 24-year-old big man.
Nuggets, Heat Pursuing Kings’ Eric Moreland
The Nuggets and Heat have discussed deals with the Kings involving forward Eric Moreland, league sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. Moreland underwent surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder back in January, shutting him down for the season.
The talks involving Moreland are expected to be a part of larger trade possibilities. Moreland had a strong summer league showing for the Kings a year ago but appeared in just three regular-season games before his January surgery. Moreland, who went undrafted one year ago, played his college basketball at Oregon State. Later that summer, the Kings inked the 6’10” shot blocker to a multi-year pact.
Draft Rumors: Hornets, Lakers, Russell
The Hornets have been extremely active this week and sources have indicated to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that they’re probably not done. The Celtics and Suns, according to a source, have been the most ardent suitors of Charlotte’s No. 9 pick. The Suns have the No. 13 pick but want to move up to draft Frank Kaminsky, who they fear could be a target of the Heat at No. 10 or the Pacers at No. 11. The Celtics, meanwhile, have interest in Willie Cauley-Stein. If the Hornets stay at No. 9, Deveney believes they will want to add shooting, which could lead them to Kentucky guard Devin Booker.
- Jahlil Okafor did not perform well in his second pre-draft workout with the Lakers, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. While Okafor had a drop-off from his first showing in Los Angeles, D’Angelo Russell flourished and knocked down his shots. Ding expects the Lakers to target Russell at No. 2 in Thursday night’s draft.
- Oregon guard Joseph Young does not have a first round promise from the Lakers or anyone else, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News tweets. Young’s foot injury remains a concern and he’ll be reevaluated to see if he needs surgery.
- The Lakers, Sixers, Knicks, Magic, Kings, Hornets, Pacers are all talking trades and could shake up the draft order, Chad Ford of ESPN.com tweets.
- Richaun Holmes is drawing consideration from several teams picking in the 20s, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter). Holmes spoke with Hoops Rumors recently as a part of our Draft Prospect Q&A series.
Kings Exploring Trading Back From No. 6
The Kings have been making calls on the possibility of moving back in the top 10, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). If the Kings do remain at No. 6, however, Mario Hezonja is a strong possibility to be their target.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has Hezonja ranked as the fifth-best prospect in this year’s draft and predicts that he’ll go No. 4 to the Knicks, so it’s quite possible that the guard won’t be there when the Kings pick at No. 6. Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), meanwhile, has the Kings landing Hezonja at No. 6.
Offseason Outlook: Sacramento Kings
Guaranteed Contracts
- DeMarcus Cousins ($15,851,950)
- Rudy Gay ($12,403,101)
- Carl Landry ($6,500,000)
- Jason Thompson ($6,431,250)
- Darren Collison ($5,013,559)
- Ben McLemore ($3,156,600)
- Nik Stauskas ($2,869,440)
- (Wayne Ellington $882,630)1
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Ray McCallum ($947,276)
- Eric Moreland ($845,059)
- David Stockton ($845,059)
Options
- None
Restricted Free Agents/Cap Holds
- Derrick Williams ($12,662,808) — $4,045,894 qualifying offer
Unrestricted Free Agents/Cap Holds
- Andre Miller ($8,787,500)
- Reggie Evans ($3,360,441)
- No. 6 pick ($2,831,900)
- Ryan Hollins ($947,276)
- Omri Casspi ($947,276)
Draft Picks
- 1st Round (6th overall)
Cap Outlook
- Guaranteed Salary: $53,108,530
- Non-Guaranteed Salary: $2,637,394
- Options: $0
- Cap Holds: $29,537,201
- Total: $85,283,125
For the ninth straight time, the Kings suffered a losing season and failed to make the playoffs. The hope, from Sacramento’s perspective, is that the team will finally take a quantum leap forward in its long rebuilding process. Time, however, is running out for that procedure to include star DeMarcus Cousins, who lately has been the subject of a bevy of trade rumors. This offseason is a particularly important one for the Kings because of the front office shakeup the franchise experienced and the fact they will be playing their last season at the old arena before moving into their new downtown arena in the fall of 2016.
While the Kings have seven players under guaranteed contracts for next season, that doesn’t mean they necessarily have depth, and they are without several areas that are in need of improvement. Cousins is locked in for three more seasons for a total of $47MM, and he had a terrific year, with averages of 24.1 points per game and 12.7 rebounds per game. He will turn 25 going into the 2015/16 seasons, with his first five seasons in the league ending without a playoff appearance. Yet despite four consecutive draft lottery selections, the Kings are yet to find a secondary star with the ability to support Cousins.
This might be the season the Kings ditch him and move in an entirely different direction, according to recent reports that claim coach George Karl has an intense desire for the Kings to trade him. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports Karl and some members of the team’s front office have expressed to executives and coaches from other teams that they hope to have owner Vivek Ranadive’s blessing to trade the All-Star soon.
Ranadive and vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac have insisted time and again that the team has no plans to trade Cousins, however, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Divac has said the team is looking for players who will complement Cousins’ skills.
“That is not happening,” Divac said about the possibility of moving Cousins, “but I would love to do something, a smaller move, before the draft. We have a lot of changes to make. The league is much more up-tempo now, and we need more three-point shooting. If we don’t get that in the draft, we’ll be active in free agency and see about making trades later in the offseason.”
Still, the Lakers, Celtics, Knicks and Nuggets have been tied to Cousins as potential suitors and trade partners. The Nuggets’ interest is tied to the fact that both Denver’s coach and GM were let go by the Kings. The Nuggets have been increasingly viewed as a team likely to go after Cousins since Denver’s hiring of ex-Kings coach Michael Malone this month, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The idea that he might be on the block was ignited earlier this season amid Sacramento’s pair of midseason coaching changes. Cousins, who connected with Malone, released a statement expressing support for then-candidate Karl. The Kings also hired Divac late in the season and displaced GM Pete D’Alessandro, who’s now with the Nuggets. Cousins has asked not to be traded, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link).
Cousins has privately feared that Karl wanted him out, especially after Karl’s remark in April that he’s never had one player who would be untradeable, tweets Jones. One player that Karl would reportedly like to have replace Cousins is free agent big man JaVale McGee, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). McGee previously played for Karl in Denver.
For now, at the very least, Cousins is on the Kings, and small forward Rudy Gay is his partner on the perimeter, with three years and $40MM left on his deal. Gay, too, has been a subject of trade rumors. Kings executives believe it’ll be tough to find value for Cousins and believe they have a better chance to find the right trade for Gay, according to Wojnarowski in the aforementioned piece. Sacramento is pursuing trades for Gay and the rest of its roster, Wojnarowski reports.
Cousins and Gay aside, the Kings do not have much else in terms of dependable talent. That, of course, is part of the reason they experienced another losing season. There were a few exceptions. Point guard Darren Collison, who is signed for two more years at $10MM, played well in his return to a starting role. Ben McLemore, after getting more minutes, improved his shooting statistics to respectable figures. McLemore improved his field goal percentage from 38% in 2013/14 to 44% this past season.
Depth and improved shooting are two major areas of concern this offseason for the Kings — besides, of course, the Cousins saga. The Kings, who have some cap space this summer, but not much wiggle room, have been a poor shooting team for a couple of years now, and that didn’t change this past season. They ranked 28th in both 3-pointers made and 3-pointers attempted. Sacramento has about $53MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $67.1MM cap for next season, not counting its first-round pick at No. 6., but with the team seemingly checking in on so many potential trades, it’s challenging to predict how much the Kings will have in terms of money and assets.
Ty Lawson is someone who can help in the area of shooting and has been linked to the Kings recently. The Nuggets and Kings have discussed a deal involving Lawson, but the sides have found little traction, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Karl is “enamored” with the notion of trading for Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler, Berger writes in another piece, presumably in a deal that ships out Cousins.
Another name is soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo. The Kings and Rondo have mutual interest, as the idea of signing a one-year deal with Sacramento to rehabilitate his value around the league intrigues the point guard, Wojnarowski reports. Sacramento has long coveted Rondo, as reports have indicated, and the Kings were apparently among the teams who spoke with the Celtics shortly before Boston traded him to Dallas in December. Rondo is a name that makes sense for the Kings, with or without Cousins, because of how much Karl likes to push the ball in an up-tempo offense.
While it appears the team will be active on both the trade and free agent markets, the Kings also have the No. 6 pick in the draft. It’s an asset they are likely to move, however, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. If the Kings hold on to the pick, I would expect them to scoop up a big man. It’s a good year for big men in the draft, and the Kings have a hole at power forward because Jason Thompson is among the least productive starters in the league. What’s more, the Kings are intrigued by the pairing of Frank Kaminsky and Cousins, according to Mannix (Twitter link). Kaminsky had a strong workout with the Kings on Monday, Mannix adds.
It’s already shaping up to be an intriguing offseason for the Kings, who have a new coach, new vice president of basketball and franchise operations and a new arena on the way, yet have suffered the same fate for nine straight seasons. Whether or not the team moves Cousins dictates the rest of the summer, one that Divac has promised would be the last the Kings go through as a team with a top-10 draft pick.
Cap Footnotes
1 — The Kings waived Ellington in August 2014 and used the stretch provision to spread his remaining guaranteed salary over the next three seasons.
The Basketball Insiders Salary Pages were used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 6/24/15
Some of the greatest joys of being a sports fan, besides your favorite team winning the championship, are the debates that arise between fellow sports nuts along the way. It’s with this in mind that we have begun providing a forum for basketball fanatics to voice their opinions, debate trending topics, and simply hang out with like-minded hoops aficionados. We’ve begun been posting a new topic for readers to discuss each weeknight, which we hope that this will become a regular part of your sports day. If you missed our previous discussions you can view them here, or simply head over to the sidebar and select “Hoops Rumors Community Shootarounds.”
Of course, there will be differing opinions from time to time. While we absolutely encourage lively discussion and debate, we do expect everyone to treat each other with respect. So, please refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults or attacks, as well as the other taboo types of discourse laid out in our site’s commenting policy. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Hoops Rumors. Just put in your name, email address, and comment and submit it; there is no need to become a registered user.
Now that the preamble has been taken care of, on to the topic of the day: What should the Kings do regarding DeMarcus Cousins?
There are reports swirling that new Kings head man George Karl would prefer it if his job description didn’t include coaching the talented big man next season. This is a bit of a puzzler, seeing as team owner Vivek Ranadive and vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac have adamantly opposed any idea of dealing away Cousins. If there indeed was a disconnect between Karl and Cousins, one would think that would have come up during the interview process. Nevertheless, there remains the distinct possibility that Boogie may be terrorizing the paint in another uniform during the 2015/16 campaign.
What do you think the team should do regarding Cousins? Firing Karl and replacing him with a coach who embraces Cousins is likely not an option since Karl recently inked a multiyear pact. There has been talk that the Lakers could be in play with the No. 2 overall pick, though it would likely take more than that to land such a talented player. What realistic return should Sacramento expect for Cousins? What does the fact that we’re discussing this potentiality say about the Kings organization as a whole? Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts, opinions, and trade ideas. We look forward to what you have to say.
Note: There won’t be a Shootaround posted on Thursday night. But I will be hosting a live chat during the NBA Draft that will begin at 6pm (Central). Come join us as we discuss, debate, and critique all of the selections as they occur.
Latest On Heat’s Offer To Goran Dragic
WEDNESDAY, 8:48am: Miami’s five-year offer to Dragic is expected to be for between $90MM and $100MM, Jackson reports. That would still likely be less than the max. The max won’t be known until the end of the July Moratorium, but based on an estimated starting salary of $18.96MM, the most Miami could give him over five years would be $109.02MM.
SATURDAY, 11:57pm: The Heat plan to make a five-year offer of more than $80MM to retain Goran Dragic, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, though an amount in the vicinity of $80MM would be less than the max. The expectation in the immediate wake of Miami’s trade deadline acquisition of the former All-NBA Third Team guard was that the team would offer him the max to stay, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com wrote at the time, but Stein points to concerns over Dwyane Wade‘s potential free agency as one reason they’d offer somewhat less. The chances of Dragic leaving the Heat increase if Wade does, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported last month.
Dragic has a $7.5MM player option for next season that he’s said he’ll turn down to instead hit free agency. Miami is the only team capable of offering Dragic a five-year deal, since it has his Bird rights. Dragic can make as much as $85MM on a four-year offer from another team while a max offer from the Heat would top $100MM, Stein estimates. The precise figures won’t be known until the league sets its maximum salaries after the July Moratorium. It nonetheless appears as though the Heat are banking on Dragic’s affection for the Heat and the city of Miami as they seek to take advantage of the ability to spread a similar amount of money over an extra year.
Wade reportedly would welcome $20MM salaries if he is to turn down his $16.125MM player option, and he’s apparently open to leaving the Heat if necessary. The Heat would prefer that Wade opt in, according to Jackson, but a less lucrative offer to Dragic would offset all or part of the extra money the Heat would spend should Wade opt out and re-sign on a deal that pays $20MM next season. That savings would be particularly important with the Heat poised not only to pay the tax next season if they retain their existing players at market value, but also incur repeat-offender tax penalties for having been a tax team three out of four years.
The Lakers, whom Dragic reportedly saw as a “perfect fit” earlier this season, loom as likely suitors, as do the Knicks, Pelicans, Kings and Bucks, as Jackson reported. The Lakers, Knicks and Bucks all have the flexibility necessary under a projected $67.1MM cap to offer a four-year max contract to the client of Bill Duffy and Rade Filipovich.
Kings Have Strong Interest In JaVale McGee
With star center DeMarcus Cousins potentially heading out of Sacramento via a trade, the Kings have expressed strong interest in free agent big man JaVale McGee, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). McGee previously played for Kings head coach George Karl in Denver, so there is obviously some familiarity between the two sides. There have also been reports of mutual interest between McGee and the Celtics, so the Kings may have some competition for the seven-footer’s services. The Mavs also apparently had serious interest in McGee this spring but later dropped out, and he was also linked to the Rockets, Raptors and Heat.
I would speculate that the Kings could have interest in inking McGee even if Cousins remains with the team. Cousins has indicated his desire to be used at power forward more often, and Sacramento was indeed interested in acquiring a rim-protecting big man at the trade deadline this year. McGee, when he’s healthy and motivated, can certainly be an asset on the defensive end, though he has been plagued by maturity issues throughout his career. It’s unclear just how much the veteran would be seeking on a new contract, and for what length. A sticking point in his negotiations with the Celtics back in March was McGee’s insistence on a player option for 2015/16, though he later backed off of that request, but no deal was ever struck. He could be worth taking a flier on for Sacramento on a short-term, non-guaranteed minimum salary arrangement. It wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see McGee settle for the minimum, since Philadelphia’s obligated to pay $12MM to McGee next season after waiving him shortly after the trade deadline without agreeing to any sort of buyout arrangement.
The 27-year-old put up career lows this past campaign in several categories, including his 11.1 minutes per game across 23 appearances split between Denver and Philadelphia as he struggled to regain his health after missing all but five games during the 2013/14 season with a stress fracture in his left leg. His career numbers through 382 contests are 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. McGee’s career shooting numbers are .540/.200/.587.
Latest On Ty Lawson, Nuggets, Kings
2:22pm: Karl is “enamored” with the notion of trading for Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler, Berger writes in another piece, presumably in a deal that sends out Cousins. The Nuggets are open to trading Lawson and Chandler, but the Poison Pill Provision attached to Faried’s recently extended contract would make the salary-matching cumbersome for any deal involving him before July, Berger adds.
TUESDAY, 10:45am: Karl would consider trading Rudy Gay for Lawson, a source told Chris Broussard of ESPN in a story that centers on Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s unwillingness to allow any DeMarcus Cousins trades. That would seemingly throw Karl’s ability to engineer a Gay-Lawson trade through Kings front office chief Vlade Divac into question, though that’s just my speculation.
MONDAY, 5:24pm: The Nuggets and Kings have discussed a deal involving Ty Lawson, but the sides have found little traction, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Chad Ford of ESPN.com suggested as much in a recent chat. Sacramento has been pursuing Lawson from Denver with the sixth pick at the heart of would-be deals, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote in his NBA AM piece earlier today. Kyler nonetheless hears that Denver’s demands for Lawson are too high for the Kings and that Sacramento isn’t on board with giving up the No. 6 choice and future draft picks for Lawson.
Still, the Kings continue to make Nik Stauskas available, Berger reports, while the Nuggets are involved in a potential trade scenario that would send their No. 7 pick to the Knicks, an executive from another team told Berger. The Nuggets would also give up the right to swap first-rounders with the Knicks next year, one that they gained via the Carmelo Anthony trade, in such a deal, Berger adds.
Kings coach George Karl would reportedly love for the team to acquire Lawson, whom he coached with the Nuggets. Still, Denver was asking for multiple first-round picks for him at the deadline, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reported.
Stauskas, whom Sacramento took eighth overall last year, became available as early as this past January, as Berger reported then. Knicks president Phil Jackson has expressed a willingness to trade back from the No. 4 pick, and speculation has resulted in numerous such scenarios.