Have the Los Angeles Lakers finally thrown in the towel on its attempts to lure DeMarcus Cousins to Hollywood?
This seems to be the case as the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings now seem intent on keeping their respective players.
There were rumors that the Kings were interested in a trade for Cousins if the package would be a 3-for-1 deal. The players allegedly involved were Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell. As one would guess, the Lakers shunned the deal.
Dealing three young and future NBA stars for a current one seems to be too much to ask. In a sense, it seems like a pretty lopsided trade, but the Kings perhaps want to know just how badly the Lakers want Cousins.
Word about a possible Cousins trade first cropped up after head coach George Karl reportedly sought to put Cousins up for trade. However, team owner Vivike Ranadive shot down all such plans, saying Cousins is untouchable.
The Lakers stopped calling Kings about Boogie after drafting @Dloading --whom they want to keep. Kings haven't called back either
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 2, 2015 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">In fact, Ranadive reached a point where he would even consider firing Karl instead. Hence, the reason why the name of John Calpari came up.
The drama unfolding between Cousins and Karl is of course far from over. Anything can still happen before the next NBA season starts. We could either see Cousins and Karl making up, or one of them staying and/or going.
The Lakers are not the only team trying to get Cousins. The Boston Celtics also expressed a deep interest in the star power forward. But the thing is, the Kings could ask for something similar to the multiplayer trade they sought from the Lakers for Cousins.
Unlike the Lakers, however, the Celtics are open to trading some of their main men, including Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynk. But will the Kings be interested in them?
