One trade every NBA team needs to make
By Tom West
Sacramento Kings
The Kings won’t be trading DeMarcus Cousins. No one in their organization has given any kind of hint that they’re considering moving him and as he continues to dominate everyone with his 27 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, that shouldn’t change.
As for Rudy Gay, we’ve already mentioned some teams that may be interested in him and he’s a player the Kings will actually consider moving if the price is right. He isn’t the key focal point of their offense now that Cousins has reached another level and Rajon Rondo is dishing out dimes at a league-best rate. So, if they can get a good return and remove Gay’s upcoming salary of $13.3 million for 2016-17, it’s something they’ll consider.
The Hornets have a package that should make sense to them. With an offer of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Tyler Hansbrough and Troy Daniels, they may be able to land Gay.
This move is one to consider if the Kings want to look to the near future. Even if they somehow steal the 8th seed this season it’s getting them no more than a first round demolition against the Warriors. However, with MKG (who’s playing extremely well after returning from injury and averaging a double-double) they get a notable defensive upgrade over Gay. To make matters even better, he’s on a good value contract for four more years.
With Hansbrough the Kings get even more frontcourt depth and some interior toughness, while Daniels gives them another three-point marksman which is an asset any team would like. He’s shooting 50 percent from deep with 4.4 made threes per 36 minutes, and just buried eight of them and a game-winner against (how perfect is this?) the Kings.
In order to improve long-term, this makes sense for the Kings. As for the Hornets, they get another go-to scorer to pair with Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum — something that should appeal to them even more now that they don’t have Al Jefferson as a 20-point threat due to injury and gradual decline.
Next: Utah Jazz