Report: DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay On Trading Block For Sacramento Kings
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Sacramento Kings coach George Karl is pushing hard for the team to trade all-star center DeMarcus Cousins, according to a report from Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
While owner Vivek Ranadive has dismissed speculation that Cousins could potentially be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources told Wojnarowski that not only is Cousins potentially available, but forward Rudy Gay.
Gay (21.1 ppg) and Cousins (24.1 ppg) were the team's leading scorers last season. Cousins was the team's first All-Star since Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic were named in 2004.
Cousins shared this Tweet after the report came out.
The emojis depict a snake in the grass.
Trading away two key players would be a significant blow for a team expected to open a new downtown arena in the 2016-17 season, but the Kings have been in disarray since last season.
The team was off to its best start in years when Cousins came down with viral meningitis. While he was sidelined, the team struggled and head coach Mike Malone was fired. Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin was brought in to lead the team in the interim, but was relieved of his position after going 7-21, despite having told Corbin his job was safe in late December.
Karl was brought in to relieve Corbin and the team limped to an 11-19 record under Karl to finish 29-53.
After the season, team adviser Chris Mullin left for a coaching job with St. John's University.
General manager Pete D'Alessandro left the team on June 10 for a front office job with the Denver Nuggets. Five days later, Malone was hired as the Nuggets' head coach.
