Here's my theory. During the suspension, Petrie went to Cousin's agent and said "look, we can't trade him for pennies on the dollar. We don't want him here anymore than he wants to be here, but we need to save some face (and value). So, if he really wants out, then he needs to get out there on the floor, keep his head down, and show other teams that he is an elite player that they NEED to have, so we can get a good return for him."
Sacramento will continue to try to build his value until closer to the trade deadline. They want to get some real value for him.
I really think if he is coming to the C's, it would be for Rondo, not for some spare parts.
It makes sense, but I gotta think if Rondo is involved Ainge only does it if we get both Cousins and Evans. I still dont make that trade but it has to be the asking price if Rondo's name comes up.
Oh yeah, I don't think Danny would ever do Cousins for Rondo straight up. He may not send Rondo in any Cousins deal.
But my point is, I think that is the type of talent they are going to be looking for in a Cousins deal.
I could also see them target some of the other big names that could be available. Someone like Gay comes to mind.
I agree, but find it harder and harder to imagine the Cs trading Rondo for Cousins, even if Evans, Fredette, whoever came back with him.
As for Gay, I felt David Aldridge made a very good point in his article about salary. The Maloofs are finally achieving strong flexibility in terms of location and financials. Sounds like they have no lease on an arena next year, and they basically have no bad contracts. That's what they care about.
Even for a good player like Gay, i suspect that means they'd balk. Rondo's a different story, but again, I dunno if Danny would go that far. He and Bradley sure seem to like playing together......
Well, the reason the Maloofs like their financial flexibility is because they can use it to try to build a winning team.
I think they would love to get their hands on a guy like Gay.
And if they can find a way to turn Cousins and Evans and spare parts into Rondo and Gay, they could very well be on their way to rebuilding on the fly, and making a jump like they did years ago when they traded for Chris Webber.
Not that I think this would happen, but I think it is a reasonable trade for all 3 teams
Boston gets Cousins, Robinson, Brooks for Rondo, Bass, Melo
Memphis gets Bass, Salmons, Evans for Gay
Sacramento gets Gay, Rondo, Melo for Cousins, Robinson, Evans, Brooks, and Salmons
other small pieces like Arthur, Collins, Wilcox, etc. could easily be put into the mix depending on other moves.
The more I think about that trade, the more I like it for all three teams. It really seems to help all 3, Memphis gets a more manageable contract situation with a lot more depth and a dynamic guard going forward. Boston beefs up the interior with young talented players. Sacramento gets two "star" level players to build around going forward to create a new core.