Lakers Rumors: Team Continues To Pursue DeMarcus Cousins

The Lakers need to hit with the number two overall pick in the draft. The question is who will they choose to try and revive this franchise. It seems it’s coming down to Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell.

-== Best Lakers Draft Pick & Free Agent Pairings ==-

Both players seem worthy to be selected by the Lakers. Now, the Lakers have to decide wether they want to go big or small. Either way, both prospects look promising.

With the draft about 24 hours away, time is running out and it looks like the Lakers might be shopping the pick to try and land DeMarcus Cousins. According to Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times, the Lakers continue to pursue a trade for Cousins and it might be the best deal Sacramento might get:

"The Lakers and Sacramento Kings continue to discuss a trade for Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, according to a person familiar with the situation.The Lakers’ offer includes the second overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft and “might be the best offer the Kings can get” at this point, according to the person, although the Kings have publicly stated they are not interested in trading Cousins."

Cousins is a proven All-Star in this league and he’s only 24 years old. While Okafor and Russell are promising young players, you really don’t know how their game will translate in the NBA. There is no sure thing in the draft, players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis only come around so often. If the Kings are willing to take the deal, the Lakers have to strongly consider it.

Some have been arguing that the number two pick is valuable because the player will be on the rookie scale which will give the Lakers more cap space. However, at the end of the day, you can’t pass up on a player like Cousins, even if it means it’s going to cost you more money.