DeMarcus Cousins Wants A Trade

So the rumors are flying that DeMarcus Cousins had demanded a trade from the Kings. Well if he wants a trade, I'll give him a trade!



By my assessment, the following 26 teams do not need a starting power forward:
Celtics, Knicks, 76ers, Raptors, Nets, Bulls, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Hawks, Bobcats, Heat, Magic, Wizards, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Mavericks, Rockets, Grizzlies, Spurs, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Thunder, Blazers, Jazz

Count out the Kings because he currently (allegedly) doesn't want to play for them, and you are left with 3 teams that would potentially want to acquire Cousins. Trade machine time! In order of how likely they are to happen (although it's conceivable that Cousins will settle and be fine with staying in Sacramento):

Milwaukee Bucks
With a core of Brandon Jennings, Andrew Bogut, Steven Jackson, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute the Bucks have the potential to be a decent team. Their one glaring weakness is at power forward. They currently start Drew Gooden (he still plays?). So... yeah.
Milwaukee Receives: DeMarcus Cousins, PF
Sacramento Receives: Ersan Ilyasova, PF & Beno Udrih, PG
Unfortunately for me, I think Sacramento says no to this trade. But if Cousins makes it really apparent that he wants out, they may have to settle for a lowball offer.

Side note: Ilyasova looks exactly like James Franco

Phoenix Suns
For all you Syracuse fans out there, I bet you'll be happy to be reminded that Hakim Warrick is the Suns' starting power forward. Sorry about this part: he's just not that good. As a backup, he's fine; if he's starting, that's trouble for the team.
Phoenix Receives: DeMarcus Cousins, PF
Sacramento Receives: Robin Lopez, C & Shannon Brown, PG
To be honest, Chuck Hayes (currently Sacramento's #1 center) is not good enough to start. This trade allows the Kings to upgrade there and bring in one of the most electric players in the league in Brown. Phoenix only has about a year or two left of Steve Nash - this is good and bad. It's bad because I think Nash could calm Cousins down (a little - don't get carried away) and make him significantly better. It's good because they are going to have to rebuild - and Cousins is a start. The next few years are going to be bleak for Phoenix. I'll leave it at that.


New Orleans Hornets
I tweeted this the other day, but I legitimately think the Hornets will win a title before the Celtics win another one. A roster full of underrated studs: Jarrett Jack, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Al-Farouq Aminu, Greivis Vasquez, Jason Smith, Emeka Okafor. They currently start Carl Landry, who isn't bad by any definition. But Cousins would undoubtedly be an upgrade.
New Orleans Receives: DeMarcus Cousins, PF
Sacramento Receives: Trevor Ariza, SF & the Hornets' 2nd round pick in 2012 (or 1st round if the Kings demand it)
For the Hornets, I'd take the upgrade now and sacrifice a draft pick for a guy who has proven he can be a star power forward. A starting 5 of Jack, Gordon, Aminu (finally his time to shine), Cousins, and Okafor with Landry, Vasquez, and Belinelli off the bench is ready to compete. For Sacramento, you're getting help in the future and a third young star to go along with Jimmer and Tyreke Evans. This would give the Kings Fredette, Evans, and John Salmons in the backcourt and Ariza, Travis Outlaw, JJ Hickson, and Chuck Hayes in the frontcourt. That's not a bad team, right? Plus it's not uncommon at all for late draft picks to blossom in the NBA. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: