With DeMarcus Cousins potentially available for trades heading into the NBA Draft, several teams are eyeing entry into the race for the center. The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly put in their trade request while the New York Knicks are hovering around the idea as well. The Boston Celtics have tried once before to get Cousins in a deal when they had Rajon Rondo and now Isaiah Thomas is putting in his recruiting pitch for his former teammate.
Thomas told the Boston Herald that he fully plans on recruiting free agents to Boston and Cousins is on his radar. After Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that Cousins was available following drama with head coach George Karl, Thomas took to Instagram to reach out to his former teammate. The point guard left a comment on Cousins' pitcher saying, "If they don't want u. I know who does." Cousins did not reply.
According to Greg Dickerson of CSNNE.com, the Celtics plan on pushing for a Cousins trade up until the NBA Draft on Thursday. Dickerson writes that even with the continuous no's coming from Sacramento regarding a trade for the center, the Celtics will pursue the plan until the very end. They have 24 hours to make a deal happen.
Boston could win the trade race on draft picks along. The Celtics have been collecting picks over the past two seasons with the intention of making a trade like this at some point. They also have assets in Jared Sullinger and Brandon Bass they have considered moving. That is not as enticing as say the Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson package the Lakers are reportedly placing on the table, but the draft picks might be intriguing to the Kings.
The Celtics want an elite center. The team has been linked to every free agent from Greg Monroe and Marc Gasol to Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez. They view that as their biggest need heading into next year. The team has the money to make a deal happen. They also have the tools to make draft trades. If a deal for Cousins gets denied, the team will likely try and jump up the draft board for a young rookie.
According to the Herald, Danny Ainge will try to be aggressive and get higher than the No.16 pick. The Celtics have looked at several draft options from Willie Cauley-Stein and Justise Winslow to Myles Turner and Kristaps Porzingis. It is unclear exactly how high the Celtics are trying to move up, but any of those players could start being selecting as early as No.4 meaning Boston will need to be very aggressive in a deal.
