The Kings have reportedly expressed interest in trading for Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, but could that mean a DeMarcus Cousins deal?
The Los Angeles Lakers had a bit of a tumultuous year with rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell between Byron Scott using him absolutely terribly and the whole Nick Young locker room debacle. However, he’s still one of the brightest young talents in the league and it seems that the Sacramento Kings think so as well.
As the teams around the league were gearing up for the draft, ESPN’s Marc Stein broke the news that there was something afoot regarding the Kings and the former Ohio State point guard.
According to said reports, the Kings are looking to make a blockbuster trade and one target that’s been discussed is the Lakers point guard:
Sacramento has been heavily engaged in trade talks all week and sources say one player they've tried to land is the Lakers' D'Angelo Russell
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 23, 2016
Obviously the fact that they haven’t made the trade just yet means that discussions are still ongoing. However, this is certain to raise eyebrows and rightfully so. Not only would it mean that the Lakers would be trading the No. 2 overall pick from 2016 if they were to make a deal, but the fact that they could land a big name from the Kings is intriguing as well.
A name like DeMarcus Cousins certainly comes to mind.
It’s no secret that Boogie Cousins has long been on the radar of the Lakers and it would make even more sense now giving the massive hole that they have now at center. However, what would be interesting is to see what a full trade involving both Cousins and Russell would look like to make the money work.
This is all just rumors at this point, but it definitely looks like there’s something substantial to this. The real question is whether or not it actually comes to fruition or not. All that’s certain is that Lakers fans and the rest of the NBA should hold onto their seats.