Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers were linked to star center DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings on more than one occasion. Cousins was rumored to be on the trading block with then-head coach George Karl wanting to move on from the outspoken center.
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In Karl’s new tell-all book, “Furious George,” the 65-year-old admits that the Kings were in trade talks with the Lakers in a deal involving Cousins amongst many other controversial topics, via Sean Cunningham of ABC10 (KXTV) Sacramento:
Karl Book:
6. Kings talked to Lakers re: trading Cousins
7. Ranadive talks to John Calipari a lot
8. Ranadive committed to star player— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) December 23, 2016
The deal for Cousins was rumored to include the Lakers’ second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, which turned out to be Brandon Ingram, along with one or two of the Lakers’ young core of Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell or Jordan Clarkson.
Despite the seemingly endless trade rumors of a deal being discussed between the Lakers and Kings, Vlade Divac and company denied that any talks were taking place. DeMarcus Cousins remains the face of the franchise in Sacramento, but there’s no telling how long that may last with the team’s struggles continuing even without Karl leading the way.
As for the Lakers, the team’s brass appear content with the way the roster is currently constructed. General manager Mitch Kupchak recently expressed confidence in the team and its young players claiming the Lakers have no intention of making any deals anytime soon.
Luke Walton’s squad may have hit a rough patch with the team now sitting at 11-20, but no one is pressing the panic button in Los Angeles. The Lakers front office wants to see how things pan out with a lot of faith in Walton’s ability to turn things around for the struggling franchise.
