Bye-Bye Boogie?

Could Sacramento ship away their star center on draft day?

Without a doubt, the spiciest situation heading into this summer’s draft involves DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings. Matt Moore said it best: This has reached the point of utter absurdity.

Because of George Karl’s apparently active quest to bequeath Boogie, Cousins has reached a breaking point. Though local reports indicate Cousins doesn’t want to leave the Cowbell Kingdom, it seems unlikely that Karl and Cousins can reconcile. Word on the street is that Cousins (like many of us oxygen-breathing human beings) deeply values trust in his relationships, and that Karl’s attempts to recruit returning Kings players to push for Cousins to be traded was the final straw. Boogie’s tweet-game says it all.

Having just signed Karl for a pretty penny, it might indeed be Cousins who gets the boot from Sac-town this summer. While a Cousins deal might not occur on draft-night, things really got out of hand fast.

The Kings could still elect to fire Karl instead of trading Cousins, or wait things out and see if the two can patch things up in training camp. However, for the sake of excitement, let’s examine some potential trades that the Kings could consider for Cousins on draft-day.

Gerald Bourguet wrote about five potential trade partners and scenarios, some of which I’ll draw on here.

Bourguet discussed the potential for the Phoenix Suns to throw a “godfather” offer out for Cousins. I don’t believe a Cousins trade makes that much sense for the Suns if they’re giving up Eric Bledsoe in the deal. With that being said, a package like this could get the deal done if the Kings become increasingly desperate to move DeMarcus:

Sac gets: both Morris brothers, Alex Len, T.J. Warren, no. 13 overall pick, and Miami and Cleveland’s future first-round picks

Phx gets: Cousins

Denver remains a rumored destination for Cousins as well since reports indicate Karl is pushing for a deal to bring Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, and Wilson Chandler aboard. Still, without including the no. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft this would be an absolute disaster deal for the Kings.

Last night, Woj tweeted that the Kings and Lakers were discussing the framework of a deal in which the no. 2 overall pick, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle would be moved to Sacramento for Boogie. Though the Lakers have reportedly been hesitant to part with two young players and the second pick, surely the intrigue of receiving Cousins will keep the two teams talking trade throughout the day. If the Lakers made this move, they’d be relying entirely on free agency to build their team for the foreseeable future (as they still owe the Sixers a top-3 protected first-round pick).

One other eye-opening blockbuster that could potentially go down would involve Sam Hinkie’s Sixers trading for Boogie. Years ago, they had the chance to draft him, but decided on Evan Turner instead at no. 2 overall. It would likely take Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, and a future first-round pick, but Noel doesn’t possess Cousins’ two-way star potential, and Embiid’s injury concerns mean he’s likely far from an untouchable anymore. Hinkie’s former colleague, Rockets’ GM Daryl Morey, stockpiled assets that eventually helped him swindle away the second-placed finisher in 2014-15 MVP voting, James Harden. It’s unclear whether Hinkie believes Cousins is the type of star who can be the best player on a championship-caliber team, or whether he’s ready to relinquish Embiid before seeing him play a single NBA game, but Boogie is also among the first true studs to become available on the trade market since Hinkie took over in Philly. The Wolf of Broad Street simply can’t be left out of trade talk, especially during draft-day.

Ultimately, it will certainly still be shocking if Boogie is sent packing today, but the Kings and Cousins are at a clear crossroads, a point of no return.