Cousins latest: Petrie on DeMarcus, teams monitor availability

After being dismissed before the Kings 96-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets, DeMarcus Cousins made the trip out to Memphis, where the Kings begin a three-games-in-three-nights set, starting with the Grizzlies.  Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie met yesterday with Cousins along with his Seattle-based agent, John Greig, who flew down from Washington to address the issue first-hand.  Petrie details some of the meeting to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones:

“We talked about the important role he play in what we’re trying to do offensively an the gamut of what he needs to do going forward,” Petrie said. “…We did not agree on everything but that’s OK.”

Head Coach Paul Westphal tells Jones that Cousins will dress for tonight’s game and will not start.  J.J. Hickson is expected to once again fill the void.

Teams eye Cousins

Following Sunday’s events, it’s no shock that teams around the league have begun monitoring Cousins’ availability.  Here are a few whose interest have been reported:

The Boston Celtics (via Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald)

The Celtics, like most teams, have called Sacramento to gauge what it would take to trade for DeMarcus Cousins. The young, disgruntled Kings center has been suspended from the team for his disagreements with coach Paul Westphal.

“It’s highly unlikely,” a league source said of the Celtics’ chances of landing Cousins. “I’m not sure that any team is going to get him. The thing is that everyone knows he’s a wreck. They’re not going to get what he’s worth.”

The Detroit Pistons (via Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press)

The Pistons are big fans of Cousins and are observing what’s going on just like everybody else. They grew to like him a lot and the feeling is likely mutual, since Cousins was impressed in meetings with the Pistons in the 2010 NBA predraft combine.

The New Jersey Nets (via Chris Mannix on SI)

Kings brass have gone on record saying they will not trade the mercurial big man.