The Lakers and Kings have reportedly had ongoing talks about the possibility of a DeMarcus Cousins trade for a while now, but the Kings have never budged, unwilling to deal DMC unless it’s for a monster package (Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, first-round picks galore, maybe more).
On Thursday night, the Lakers selected Ohio State PG D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 pick in the Draft. And the Lakers would still be willing to deal Russell in a heartbeat for Cousins, if that’s what it takes. Word?
From Mark Heisler of the LA Daily News:
This process will take years, not a year.
You shortcut it at your peril, even if the Lakers were willing to trade their No. 2 pick for Sacramento’s even-higher-maintenance-than-Dwight-Howard DeMarcus Cousins … and would send Russell up there tomorrow if that would do it, a league source told me.
Not that it’s likely to happen, either.
With owner Vivek Ranadive intent on not trading Cousins, much less to the hated Lakers, the Kings asked for the moon — the No. 2 pick, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, more picks.
