DeMarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Cousins, Thunder, Vesely, Morris

December 22nd, 2012 at 6:16pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In addtion to Steve Nash's Lakers debut tonight, another major talking point in the Pacific Division involves the Kings' suspension of DeMarcus Cousins. According to Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today, a source close the team's plans says that the former Kentucky big man isn't untouchable. Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM feels that Sacramento and the Magic would benefit by exploring trade talks, as both have pieces that could help the other side (Twitter link). Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops also weighed in, offering four different scenarios in which the Kings could deal the fourth-year player. With that aside, here are some of the other notable stories we're hearing from the NBA this evening:

Jim Eichenhoffer of Hornets.com tweets that Eric Gordon has been cleared for full contact practice.
Jenni Carlson of NewsOK believes that dealing James Harden to Houston has made the Thunder a better and more fluid team, pointing to the significant increase in assist numbers by Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Jan Vesely has yet to earn a consistent role during a turbulent start to his second-year campaign with the struggling Wizards, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. “It’s tough, especially when the team is losing,” Vesely said of his current role. “Everybody try to stay positive but sometimes it’s hard. I try to practice everyday, work on my game and stay ready for my chance to play.”
Darius Morris may not be ready for a starting job, but Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times writes about how the Lakers' sophomore guard has found a significant role in Mike D'Antoni's rotation (Sulia link).
Two years ago and just months removed from "The Decision", Jazz guard Mo Williams (then with Cleveland) and Heat superstar LeBron James may not have necessarily been on each other's holiday greetings list. Today, Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune notes how the two former teammates had nothing but glowing remarks to say about each other heading into tonight's matchup between Utah and Miami.

Odds & Ends: Kings, Van Gundy, Howard, Louisville

December 18th, 2012 at 6:54pm CST by Alex Lee

The Kings, currently 7-17, will be a team to watch as the season progresses. Yesterday, there were some contradictory reports as to whether the team would deal Tyreke Evans, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason. Earlier this month, we heard that DeMarcus Cousins, despite his third-year struggles, will not be made available. Asked about the possibility of the Celtics acquiring Evans and/or Cousins today, CSNNE's A. Sherrod Blakely tweeted that while the talented duo isn't yet available, that will likely change.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the League:

Stan Van Gundy talks about his grievances with commissioner David Stern, his disagreements with the Magic front office, and his continued communication with Dwight Howard, among other topics, with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca on Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast.
Speaking of Howard, the Lakers center will be a free agent next summer. But HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler gave an emphatic "no" when asked on Twitter whether Howard would entertain a return to the Magic.
Writing for Forbes, Darren Heitner says that although the idea has initially been met with skepticism, Louisville should be near the top of the list for the next city to get an NBA team. Using the highly profitable University of Louisville basketball program as an example, Heitner says that Louisville is a "basketball city in a basketball state."

Western Rumors: Cousins, Brown, Iguodala, Fisher

December 6th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Chuck Myron

A matchup of fourth-place teams, as the Mavs travel to take on the Suns, is the only Western Conference tilt on a two-game night in the NBA, but the action off the court is much juicier. We delivered the latest on the Pau Gasol saga earlier this morning, and now here's more from the West.

Slumping as he begins his third season, DeMarcus Cousins is nonetheless coveted by several teams around the league, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, who adds that the Kings remain uninterested in trading the 22-year-old center.
Mike Brown, still owed $10MM from the Lakers after the team let him go just five games into the season, tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that he'll eventually get back into coaching, but is in no rush.
Andre Iguodala, who can exercise an early-termination option this summer, is a safer bet to remain with the Nuggets than Carmelo Anthony was as his deal neared an end, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com, after examining all the other options, believes the Mavs' signing of Derek Fisher was sound (Insider only).
The Blazers have already declined their 2013/14 option on Luke Babbitt, but they might have to give him another look as an unrestricted free agent next summer now that he's jumped into the rotation, observes Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
Rockets interim coach Kelvin Sampson reached out to Carlos Delfino during the summer and touted the ability for the Argentinian swingman to play a significant role with Houston, helping convince him to sign with the team. Jason Friedman of Rockets.com has the details.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Harden, Kings, Carroll

November 17th, 2012 at 3:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies staked their claim to a place among the NBA's elite teams this week with wins over the Heat, Thunder and previously unbeaten Knicks. That has the USA Today, and no doubt others, wondering if Memphis is the best team in the league. It's probably premature to anoint them as such after just eight games, but with Zach Randolph looking fully healthy again, they're certainly a squad worth keeping an eye on. Here's the latest on a few teams trying to catch up to them in the Western Conference standings.

Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game offers a contrasting take on the notion that James Harden only had an hour to decide on the Thunder's extension offer, writing that both Harden and his agent, Rob Pelinka, had been aware for four months that Oklahoma City was not going to give Harden the max (Sulia link).
Zach Harper of CBSSports.com details the woes of the 2-7 Kings, but Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee hears the team isn't planning on making any major moves and intends to hold on to Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette for the time being (Twitter link).
Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll, who's on an expiring contract and hadn't seen meaningful minutes for two weeks, told his agent, "I didn't work this hard to be out of the rotation," as Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune documents. His work paid off last night, when he went 6 for 6 and put up 17 points and five rebounds in close to 23 minutes.
New Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said his faith in his offensive system was reinforced by the time he spent coaching Jeremy Lin with the Knicks, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Kings Exercise Options On Cousins, Fredette

October 17th, 2012 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially exercised their 2013/14 team options on DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette, the team announced today in a press release. Option decisions had been due by the end of the month.

"We’re looking forward to seeing DeMarcus and Jimmer play this year and continue to grow, improve and help this team be successful," said Geoff Petrie in the statement released by the club.

Cousins, who is entering his third season, is now in line for a guaranteed salary of about $4.92MM in 2013/14, the final year of his rookie contract. Fredette, meanwhile, had his third-year option picked up, and will make about $2.44MM in '13/14. A year from now, Cousins will be eligible for a long-term extension with Sacramento, while the Kings will hold another team option for 2014/15 on Fredette, worth $3.11MM.

Be sure to follow Hoops Rumors' rookie-contract 2013/14 option tracker to see the latest option decisions as the October 31st deadline approaches.

Kennedy On Veterans, Cousins

October 9th, 2012 at 7:07pm CST by Sean Highkin

Earlier Tuesday, Tracy McGrady signed a deal to play in China. With that in mind, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy takes a look at several veteran players remaining on the market in his latest column:

Josh Howard, Michael Redd, and Leandro Barbosa are two wing players Kennedy points to as among the best available on the market.
Several veteran players, including Mickael Pietrus and Kenyon Martin, are unwilling to sign contracts at the veteran's minimum and are holding out for more money, Kennedy says.
Derek Fisher has been working out with the Lakers recently, but Kennedy points out that he cannot re-sign there until March, after one year has passed since he was traded to the Rockets and waived.
Kennedy suggests that Gilbert Arenas, who appeared in 17 games for the Grizzlies last season, may consider playing in China like McGrady if he cannot find a deal in the NBA.
Also in his column, Kennedy looks at the leadership role third-year center DeMarcus Cousins has been taking on with the Kings in training camp.

Anthony Davis To Be Added To Team USA Pool

May 2nd, 2012 at 12:43pm CST by Sean Highkin

12:43pm: Monroe won't be the second addition to the U.S. Olympic pool, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

12:18pm: Anthony Davis will be one of the two finalists added to the Team USA pool, according to SI.com's Sam Amick. Along with Monroe, Al Jefferson is a candidate to be the second finalist, says Amick.

11:08am: Lamar Odom hasn't been ruled out for the 2012 Olympic roster yet, Colangelo tells Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Colangelo also said that Cousins won't be added to the player pool this year, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.

WEDNESDAY, 8:09am: DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, and Anthony Davis are among the big men being considered for the Team USA pool, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Hibbert, unfortunately, is ineligible to play for the U.S. team because he played for Jamaica's senior national squad during the 2010 Centrobasket tournament. FIBA rules prevent players from representing two different countries at the senior level.

TUESDAY, 8:29pm: Jerry Colangelo told reporters (Associated Press link via ESPN.com) that he is leaning towards adding a couple of players to the pool from which the final Olympic team will be drawn. He gave no indication as to who those players might be, however.

7:30pm: With the U.S. Olympic team's projected roster increasingly depleted due to injuries, Jerry Colangelo is reportedly reconsidering his stance against adding new players. According to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, Pacers center Roy Hibbert has expressed interest in joining the team should they look to add new talent.

“It would be nice to be able to do something like that,” Hibbert said. “I always said I wanted to play in the Olympics for the US. I played with Team Jamaica last year. Hopefully I can get a quick release. It would mean the world to me to be able to participate for Team USA.”

With Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge out for the summer, the frontcourt rotation for Team USA is looking thin outside of Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, and Tyson Chandler. If Colangelo does decide to bring on new players, Hibbert, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2011/12, would appear to be a logical candidate.

Failed Deals: Beasley, Crawford, Allen, Pierce

March 15th, 2012 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

You've read about the trades that were completed prior to the deadline, but there were also plenty of moves that didn't quite work out. Here are a few that have been reported so far:

The Lakers had been in talks to acquire Michael Beasley in a deal that would've sent Jamal Crawford and Derek Fisher to the Timberwolves, with Dallas' first-round pick going to the Blazers, says Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (on Twitter).
Crawford also could've gone to the Lakers, but the Blazers didn't want to take on Derek Fisher, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Before they acquired Nick Young, the Clippers talked extensively with the Rockets about trading for Courtney Lee, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
The Clippers were also "this close" from acquiring Ray Allen, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
The Celtics had serious talks with several teams about both Allen and Paul Pierce, but nothing came together, says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Another interesting tidbit from Amick: He says the Nuggets tried to engage the Kings on Nene/DeMarcus Cousins swap about a month ago, but the Kings weren't interested (Twitter links).
The Bucks made a "strong late push" for the Hornets' Carl Landry, but couldn't work anything out, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
GM Otis Smith told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com that the Magic explored many deals to bring in help around Dwight Howard, but that the risk/reward factor didn't make sense (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Howard, Cousins, Hornets

February 25th, 2012 at 9:37pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Anytime there is a gathering of NBA general managers and reporters, rumors are sure to fly. This year Orlando offers an interesting backdrop for such discussion–the Magic's best player, Dwight Howard, is at the center of the biggest trade talks. Some news and notes from All-Star weekend:

Calling himself Superman, Dwight Howard should be familiar with dual identities. But switching between team ambassador and the player requesting a trade is not easy task writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
Howard has already lost some of his credibility as a leader in the locker room, writes the Orlando Sentinel's Brian Schmitz. Trying to fill that void, Glen Davis?
Schmitz also writes David Stern has no sympathy for the Orlando Magic.
Over at Hardwood Paroxysm, our own Sean Highkin talks about Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins, and big men in small markets.
Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops and David Stern verbally joust over the ramifications of the Chris Paul trade.
According to ESPN Los Angeles's Ramona Shelburne, former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy is a member of the group interested in buying the New Orleans Hornets.

Odds & Ends: Cousins, Lakers, Bobcats, Draft

February 24th, 2012 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Links from around the league as All-Star Weekend gets underway in Orlando….

Speaking to reporters in Orlando, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, Andrew Bynum had some strong words regarding DeMarcus Cousins and Sacramento: "It’s terrible that he has to play in Sacramento. He could take his talents somewhere and really help a team" (Twitter links). For his part, Cousins doesn't seem to mind Sacramento, having said earlier this week that he hopes to remain with the Kings long-term.
As he tells Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times, Derek Fisher knows the Lakers' roster may undergo some changes soon: "With the trade deadline looming, personnel can change, if that's what ownership or management decides. But if this is our team I think we're getting a better feel for who we are and what we're capable of doing."
Bobcats GM Rich Cho tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he's not panicking or rushing the team's rebuilding process. Cho identifies the Thunder, who went through some growing pains when Cho was a part of their front office, as a team whose patience in rebuilding paid off. Of course, if Charlotte can strike gold in the draft like Oklahoma City did with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, it would go a long way toward improving the team's outlook.
Speaking of the draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider-only link) says a 2012 draft class that once looked stacked is starting to show some cracks. While Anthony Davis remains locked in at the top of draft boards, the players behind him have some question marks.
Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman thinks the Thunder's win last night over the Lakers is the latest example of last year's acquisition of Kendrick Perkins paying off.