If C's Land Demarcus, who's the perfect 4 to pair with

[PhoSita]

As long as Sacramento continues to lose and miss the playoffs, Cousins is and will not be far off the trading block. Good likelihood Cousins demands a trade sometime in the next 12-24 months given how bad a job the Kings are doing of putting talent around him.

Yes, sure, but what leverage does he have given that he's recently signed a long-term extension?  Why not just try to turn things around and wait him out, if you're the Kings?

That is acceptable - for now.

Another year? two years? Will it still be acceptable to Cousins? Missing the playoffs.

That will be 6-7 years in the NBA without even getting to the playoffs for Cousins. How patient is Cousins going to be? How many superstars do you see go their first 7 years in the NBA without making the playoffs + stay loyal to organization ... to believe in their capacity to build a winner around that star?

This is still very much in play. Not right now but in the near future. Next 12-24 months.

Sacramento has an awful lot of work to do to get the Kings back into the playoffs in an incredibly tough Western Conference. Especially given the lack of talent around Cousins on the roster already.

I agree, they do have an awful lot of work to do.

So let's revisit this discussion in a couple of years.

[Who]

Cousins has 3 years left on his deal. He'll be down to 2 years next summer (2016 summer). If Cousins demands a trade then, Sacramento will be in a tough situation. Even they want to say "no" and try to keep Cousins, they risk his trade value going way down in last 12 months of his deal and getting back much less in return for Cousins.

Next summer (2016) or the summer after (2017 - when Cousins has only one year left on his deal). If things are still bad in Sacramento, I think there is a strong likelihood that Cousins forces his way out of there.

This summer (2015) though. Sacramento should be safe. Or at least able to talk Cousins off the ledge if he threatens to jump ship. But they don't have much of a safety net beyond that point. They need to get some serious work done and show major improvement to have any confidence in their ability to keep Cousins.

[crimson_stallion]

I'm gong to go out on a limb and say Greg Monroe.

It wouldn't be the best defensive front court around, but that duo would be an absolute force in the paint and on the boards.  Those are two of the best post-up, rebounding and passing bigs in the game today - both very skilled.  Also both can hit the midrange jumper with decent consistency, so the defense can't really afford to collapse in the paint.  You're looking at around 40 PPG and 24 RPG from that front court...and a lot of trips to the free throw line.

I would HATE to be the opposing team having to defend those two guys...

[crimson_stallion]

Edit: Double post

[mahonedog88]

I'm gong to go out on a limb and say Greg Monroe.

It wouldn't be the best defensive front court around, but that duo would be an absolute force in the paint and on the boards.  Those are two of the best post-up, rebounding and passing bigs in the game today - both very skilled.  Also both can hit the midrange jumper with decent consistency, so the defense can't really afford to collapse in the paint.  You're looking at around 40 PPG and 24 RPG from that front court...and a lot of trips to the free throw line.

I would HATE to be the opposing team having to defend those two guys...

I wouldn't hate it but Greg Monroe may already be..."off the market"...Apparently Phil Jackson has made him his primary free agent target, Monroe's agent is a guy Phil has known and worked with for over 20 years dating back to when he was the agent for Michael Jordan, and Monroe has already expressed great interest in playing in New York City anyway.  Now granted, he denied those rumors after the game tonight, but obviously he would and his word means nothing right now on that.  We'll have to see.

[Irish Stew]

Cousins is going nowhere unless he refuses to play in Sacramento and forces his way out of town. But if he does and comes here then Myles Turner would be the perfect fit alongside Cousins because of his shooting range and shot blocking. Unfortunately, if Cousins came here it would cost us a ton of draft picks including the one that we would need to draft Turner. But this is all fantasy anyway.

[loco_91]

LeBron James

[gpap]

Kevin Love

[Geo123]

LeBron James

Hey if we're going unrealistic why not?  While we're at it go for Westbrook also..

[hwangjini_1]

LeBron James

Hey if we're going unrealistic why not?  While we're at it go for Westbrook also..

and have curry round out the line up.

[saltlover]

I'm gong to go out on a limb and say Greg Monroe.

It wouldn't be the best defensive front court around, but that duo would be an absolute force in the paint and on the boards.  Those are two of the best post-up, rebounding and passing bigs in the game today - both very skilled.  Also both can hit the midrange jumper with decent consistency, so the defense can't really afford to collapse in the paint.  You're looking at around 40 PPG and 24 RPG from that front court...and a lot of trips to the free throw line.

I would HATE to be the opposing team having to defend those two guys...

I wouldn't hate it but Greg Monroe may already be..."off the market"...Apparently Phil Jackson has made him his primary free agent target, Monroe's agent is a guy Phil has known and worked with for over 20 years dating back to when he was the agent for Michael Jordan, and Monroe has already expressed great interest in playing in New York City anyway.  Now granted, he denied those rumors after the game tonight, but obviously he would and his word means nothing right now on that.  We'll have to see.

I doubt Monroe is off the market.  I don't think he's a great fit here, but his agent is also the agent for Jared Sullinger, Evan Turner, Jeff Green, and Austin Rivers.  Danny Ainge has a fine relationship with David Falk.  Falk currently has nine clients in the NBA, and four were on the Celtics at one point or another this year.  This is just the New York media having nothing better to talk about.

[crimson_stallion]

Don't get me wrong, I'd also love to see Cousins play alongside DeAndre Jordan...but I think that is living in a dream world!

Starters:
D Jordan
D Cousins
E Turner
A Bradley
M Smart

Actually nah - as much as I've been rooting for a rim protector, adding DeAndre Jordan to a lineup that also includes Turner and Smart would destroy our court spacing..at least until Smart can get more consistent with that jumper. 

You could replace turner with Crowder - that gives you a better defender and three point shooter, but then we're putting pressure on Bradley and Smart to run the offense.  I think having Turner at the point-forward spot is the best scenario for us right now.

You could also move Thomas to the starting PG spot, but then you need to move Bradley or Smart into a sixth man role, and I don't think either is a consistent enough scorer to play that 'instant offense off the bench' type of role.

Doesn't matter how you move the pieces around, I think anybody we start at the PF spot needs to be able to step out and hit a 15-18 foot jumper with some consistency, so that counts DeAndre out.   

I actually think that Sully's skill set is a VERY nice match for DMC.   The physical play of Sully and Cousins on the inside would wear down opposing teams in a massive way, and Sully's ability to step out and hit the open jumper (midrange or three) as well as their combined rebounding and passing skills would make a perfect fit in Brad's style of offense.

My concern with Sully however always has (and always will) be his endurance and his fitness.  Is he capable of staying healthy and playing 30+ minutes of productive basketball on a nightly basis?   

If Sully didn't work, I actually think that (ironically) Bass and Olynyk would both be very nice compliments to Cousins' game.  Bass can hold his own defensively and can stretch the office somewhat with his jumper (especially if he gets more consistent from three) and KO is always a threat offensively - he'd likely get a ton of open looks with all the double teams that DMC would attract.   

Another option would be to start Bass/Olynyk and DMC, then bring Zeller and Sully off the bench.  The opposition would never get a rest on the inside, because every time DMC sits they would have to deal with Sully - the constant physicality would be a nightmare to deal with.

To be honest DMC is such a beast that you could pair almost anybody with him up front and end up with a strong combo, but somehow I just really feel like pairing Cousins with either Sully or Monroe would be such a devastating combination.

[GratefulCs]

olynyk duh

BOOM

[Who]

Thaddeus Young (free agent) would be a really nice fit alongside Cousins.

Good two way player.

[aingeforthree]

Thaddeus Young (free agent) would be a really nice fit alongside Cousins.

Good two way player.

I love it. I've always liked Young. Perfect SF fit for us, with Crowder off the pine