The Sacramento Kings still may look at a DeMarcus Cousins trade at some point with the relationship between Cousins and George Karl not looking great and this comes as the Los Angeles Lakers have been interested and also as Karl has shown interest in a deal for Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson with the Denver Nuggets after the Kings took Willie Cauley-Stein in the NBA draft.
The Kings have signed Rajon Rondo in free agency, so a deal for Lawson is unlikely at this point after there was some interest earlier in the summer. The Kings have been mentioned in trade rumors quite a bit this offseason regarding Cousins, but Kings vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac has been mostly consistent in saying that the team is not trading Cousins. Divac spoke about the relationship between Cousins and Karl on The Jim Rome Show, saying that "it's not pretty right now."
While that doesn't mean a deal will happen, the Sacramento Bee reported on July 6 that the trade for Cousins is "still in play" and could be an option if Karl remains as head coach. There were conflicting reports that the Kings were considering making a move with Karl after he pushed the Cousins trade, but it appears as if he will remain with Sacramento. The Lakers were the team mentioned the most in the trade rumors and the Bee reported that LA is the team that "remains at the forefront" of any Cousins talks.
Although the Lakers likely are interested in Cousins, a deal is looking less and less likely with the moves that are getting done in free agency and with trades. According to ESPN.com, the Lakers have agreed with Brandon Bass and the team has completed the Roy Hibbert trade with the Pacers. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the Nuggets could be an option, as Karl reportedly was interested in trading for Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson this offseason.
With Rondo signed Lawson is unlikely, but Faried could be an option, as Karl coached him in Denver and feels he is a player to build around. The Lakers still have about $3 million to play with due to the Hibbert trade and the team reportedly is looking into Brendan Haywood to try and clear cap space, as he is on an unguaranteed contract. The Lakers and Kings reportedly talked a "framework" for a Cousins deal involving D'Angelo Russell and/or Julius Randle, but now it looks like LA is not willing to give up those players in any deals.
Check here for more on the Cousins trade rumors, the interest from the Lakers, the relationship between Karl and Cousins and the interest in Faried and Lawson for Karl.
The Lakers could be an option for Cousins still, but now with the Roy Hibbert deal and Brandon Bass coming in, it's looking very unlikely. The Lakers did not want to give up Julius Randle or D'Angelo Russell and they now are pushing ahead with those players in the summer league. Russell has the potential to be a star and Randle is coming back from an injury.
The team is hoping that Randle can make an impact this season along with Russell and both are in the summer league with Jordan Clarkson. The Lakers previously hoped to target Kevin Love or Marc Gasol this summer, but both of those players remained with their teams.
