Woj Bomb: DeMarcus Cousins traded to Pelicans

[SparzWizard]

Pelicans will at least fight for that #8 seed.

The Warriors are in deep trouble. You heard it first. The Warriors are in DEEP trouble should the first-round of the playoffs be between the Warriors vs Pelicans.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

The Pelicans are 2.5 games out of the playoffs.  That means their pick very reasonably will end up 15+.

My takeaway:  If all Cousins cost was Hield, an expiring contract, and a pick that will end up 10-17, there's no way in HELL I'd be willing to trade the 2017 Brooklyn 1st for Jimmy Butler.  Sorry, but Butler isn't nearly as good as DeMarcus Cousins.  Our comparable package would have been Jaylen Brown (similar to Hield) + Zizic (they say he'd go 11-15 in this draft) + an expiring contract (what Evans is) + a 2nd. 

Say what you want about Cousins' attitude, but even so Jimmy Butler should cost half as much as Cousins.   The market has been set.  I'll be pretty disappointed if we even gave up a single Brooklyn pick straight-up for Butler at this point.

Also, since people expect it of me at this point, I'm going to point out that the 76ers are thrilled at this news.   They have pick-swap rights with the Kings (who will likely stink hard post-trade) so even if Philly keeps winning games (they are 13-11 in 2017), they are still looking at a juicy pick via the Kings presuming the Kings fall over the final stretch.

Surprised this is all Sac got after all of this.

FWIW, while people are freaking out about this return, it should be noted that traditionally this is the type of pu-pu platter package teams get when they trade their stars.  You don't get a projected #1 pick in a loaded draft.  You get some young talent and a late lotto pick.   This is the norm.

Agree with your point except for this one.

Sure, no one is expecting a top pick, but it's reasonable to ask for at least TWO first rounders for what is a top 5-10 talent. They really can't squeeze out another 1st in this deal? Not even a heavily protected one?

They did get some players In Tyreke and Galloway which I think equates to another first if they know how to trade it

That's a fair point. I'll take it.

If they are able to flip those two for first, I'd be surprised, though. Not because it can't happen, but because it's the darn Kings...

[Roy H.]

Holiday is a nice PG but I would definitely put him in the latter half of starting PG's.

15th in scoring (and 5th in eFG% among that top-15), 5th in assists, 11th in rebounds, 1st in blocks  and 5th in steals. You're underrating him.

[GreenFaith1819]

It seems that Cousins' Agent was using the He won't sign anywhere but Sac threat to force the Kings to re-sign him to the monster deal and scare off other teams.  I don't think the Kings wanted to re-sign him, so they traded him to the highest buyer.  The return value in a trade dropped drastically to what the Pels paid because the chance Cousins will re-sign is small. 

If Cousins intends to explore free agency no matter what, the celtics may have dodged a bullet. 

Positive is that the Celtics could sign Cousins if he leaves in Free Agency

This.

[Kuberski33]

watch out for the NBA conspiracy theory to get Kings some draft love.

Except the Sixers can swap picks with them this year, and own their 2019 pick.

Vivek Ranadive is in the discussion for worst owner in NBA history.  Ted Stepien and Donald Sterling are his only competition.  If I were Adam Silver I'd be trying to get him to sell so they can get him out of the league.  The guy could write a book about how to run a billion dollar asset into the ground.

[Smartacus]

Sometimes the best trades are the ones that didn't happen.

This MUST be one of them.

Yep. Have to agree.

This had the potential to trade away Brown and the Nets pick, both who become all-stars. Here in Boston, he disrupts the chemistry, clashes with someone like Smart, and bolts when his contract is up.

Everyone blames Ainge for setting the team back taking a flyer on a soon-to-be-FA risky head case.

Yeah, because that's comparable to what SAC actually garnered from NO? Not close. Nice straw man.

Ugh sorry to be a snob but straw man has become the "ironic" of this generation, where everyone thinks they know what it means but nobody actually uses it correctly.

[playdream]

DA proving he has sense
I said before if you want Cousins just sign him for free when he leave, no need to pay what's for free
Actually thinks Kings got a frankly good return

[Somebody]

Holiday is a nice PG but I would definitely put him in the latter half of starting PG's.

15th in scoring (and 5th in eFG% among that top-15), 5th in assists, 11th in rebounds, 1st in blocks  and 5th in steals. You're underrating him.

That is why I didn't even bother to answer that in my reply

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Well, someone from Sacramento is happy...

https://twitter.com/GrantNapearshow

[Somebody]

The Pelicans are 2.5 games out of the playoffs.  That means their pick very reasonably will end up 15+.

My takeaway:  If all Cousins cost was Hield, an expiring contract, and a pick that will end up 10-17, there's no way in HELL I'd be willing to trade the 2017 Brooklyn 1st for Jimmy Butler.  Sorry, but Butler isn't nearly as good as DeMarcus Cousins.  Our comparable package would have been Jaylen Brown (similar to Hield) + Zizic (they say he'd go 11-15 in this draft) + an expiring contract (what Evans is) + a 2nd. 

Say what you want about Cousins' attitude, but even so Jimmy Butler should cost half as much as Cousins.   The market has been set.  I'll be pretty disappointed if we even gave up a single Brooklyn pick straight-up for Butler at this point.

Also, since people expect it of me at this point, I'm going to point out that the 76ers are thrilled at this news.   They have pick-swap rights with the Kings (who will likely stink hard post-trade) so even if Philly keeps winning games (they are 13-11 in 2017), they are still looking at a juicy pick via the Kings presuming the Kings fall over the final stretch.

Surprised this is all Sac got after all of this.

FWIW, while people are freaking out about this return, it should be noted that traditionally this is the type of pu-pu platter package teams get when they trade their stars.  You don't get a projected #1 pick in a loaded draft.  You get some young talent and a late lotto pick.   This is the norm.

Agree with your point except for this one.

Sure, no one is expecting a top pick, but it's reasonable to ask for at least TWO first rounders for what is a top 5-10 talent. They really can't squeeze out another 1st in this deal? Not even a heavily protected one?

They did get some players In Tyreke and Galloway which I think equates to another first if they know how to trade it

That's a fair point. I'll take it.

If they are able to flip those two for first, I'd be surprised, though. Not because it can't happen, but because it's the darn Kings...

Hence I said if they know how to trade it 

[pp34isthe1]

It seems that Cousins' Agent was using the He won't sign anywhere but Sac threat to force the Kings to re-sign him to the monster deal and scare off other teams.  I don't think the Kings wanted to re-sign him, so they traded him to the highest buyer.  The return value in a trade dropped drastically to what the Pels paid because the chance Cousins will re-sign is small. 

If Cousins intends to explore free agency no matter what, the celtics may have dodged a bullet. 

Positive is that the Celtics could sign Cousins if he leaves in Free Agency

This.

I understand possibility of getting him in the future but the fact is that this could have been now and C's could have gotten him for .40 cents on the dollar. If he leaves in free agency, so be it. Gotta shoot your shot. I'd rather be thinking in July, "wow that trade worked out great and C's are in the finals" then be thinking "this time next year maybe we can sign boogie".

But idk. I'm over it and moving on but still dissapointed.

[mr. dee]

Celtic fans should want to cheer for the Pelicans to lose from now on.

[Darío SpanishFan]

I trust Danny. However, I'm kind of angry we didn't beat New Orleans offer, which was easy.

Rozier, Yabusele, Mickey, Minnesota's second '17,  firsts Nets '18 and Celtics '18 and fillers. That's all.

[fantankerous]

Sometimes the best trades are the ones that didn't happen.

This MUST be one of them.

Yep. Have to agree.

This had the potential to trade away Brown and the Nets pick, both who become all-stars. Here in Boston, he disrupts the chemistry, clashes with someone like Smart, and bolts when his contract is up.

Everyone blames Ainge for setting the team back taking a flyer on a soon-to-be-FA risky head case.

Yeah, because that's comparable to what SAC actually garnered from NO? Not close. Nice straw man.

Ugh sorry to be a snob but straw man has become the "ironic" of this generation, where everyone thinks they know what it means but nobody actually uses it correctly.

You are not a snob, just someone pretending to be a snob.  It is quite clear that you are not a professional logician.  An actual logician would never analogize a logical to aesthetic device. 

[PhoSita]

All I can say is, Danny is playing a dangerous game.

Not sure how good the fit would have been with Cousins, but that was a chance to get a superstar. Those dont come along often.

What if the pick this summer ends up at four and the guy is another nice role player sort of guy, the Celts don't get a max free agent in free agency, and neither George nor Butler is available by trade?

Well, we go ahead and build through youth and make the most of Thomas and Horford. But we could look back on this as the time we could have gotten that last piece and Danny decided to wait and see.