NBA: Sacramento Kings Could Still Trade DeMarcus Cousins? All-Star Center Reacts on Twitter
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was mentioned in latest trade rumors, but the All-Star center and team executives took to Twitter to deny talks about a possible move before the 2015-16 season begins.
Howard Beck of Bleacher Report revealed that Cousins, who was the subject of numerous trade talks earlier in the offseason, could still be traded because of his strained relationship with several team officials.
According to Beck, team owner Vivek Ranadive wants to hold on to Cousins, but most team officials are in favor of trading the 25-year-old center, including coach George Karl.
"Sacramento wants to hold onto him. Vivek Ranadive absolutely wants to hold onto DeMarcus Cousins," Beck said. "But I've been told if you polled the rest of the organization, the vast majority are in favor of trading DeMarcus Cousins and that would include, though he denies it, George Karl."
Cousins took to Twitter to express his reaction after being mentioned in trade rumors again, while Ranadive and Kings vice president Vlade Divac expressed support to their enigmatic center again.
Blah blah blah...
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) August 17, 2015
I agree...#family https://t.co/byjyBgnOOC — Vlade Divac (@bgoodvlade) August 17, 2015
#WeAreFamily https://t.co/7jIEWrEeg8
— Vivek Ranadivé (@Vivek) August 17, 2015
Cousins was linked to a possible move to the Los Angeles Lakers before the 2015 NBA Draft. Previous reports indicated that Cousins and Karl are not seeing eye-to-eye, and the veteran coach wants the Kings to trade the five-year veteran center.
During an appearance on "The Jim Rome Show" in July, Divac confirmed the alleged rift between Cousins and Karl, but he said he will work on it before training camp begins. Divac said that he expects both Cousins and Karl to be in Sacramento when the new season kicks off.
"I'll be honest with you, it's not pretty right now, but I'm focused on bringing a better team this year and I think I did a pretty good job in this free agency and now I'm going to be focused on the two of them," Divac said, when asked about the relationship of Karl and Cousins.
Divac insisted that they are not willing to trade Cousins because they want to build their team around the former Kentucky standout, who was their fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
Cousins, who still has three years left on his four-year contract worth $65.62 million, is coming off the best season of his career. He averaged career-highs 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 blocks last season -- enough for him to be earn a spot on the Western Conference All-Star roster for the first time in his career.
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