That's all it needed to get Cousins

[bdm860]

Maybe this info is in one of the 20 other Cousins threads that seem to be active now, but I think these tweets are interesting (if accurate):

Woj:

Kings wanted Brandon Ingram in a trade package for Cousins, but Lakers refused to include him, league sources tell @TheVertical.

Bucher:

Source w/reasons Pels got Boogie: Cs (too focussed on getting Butler), Orl (could've had him, balked) & Phx (Sac didn't want BKnight).

Some guy I don't know:

Pistons attempted a deal with Andre Drummond to the Kings for DeMarcus Cousins. Kings said no. (Via Michael Scotto - Basketball Insiders)

Beck:

Some teams wanted nothing to do with Cousins. Some had interest but simply wouldn't surrender much, given the risks involved.

And especially that Beck quote which goes with those reports we've seen from guys like Lowe and Arnowitz, which basically say a lot of teams want nothing to do with Cousins.

Lakers didn't want to give up Ingram, Orlando decided they didn't want him.  Detroit was probably offering a straight up swap for Drummond.  Were the best pieces of a Phoenix offer Brandon Knight (whose averaging 11/2/2 this year) and Alex Len (7.5/6)?

Maybe most of the league really didn't want him.

[Alleyoopster]

It's embarrassing how many CBers are teeth gnashing and wailing this morning. I also wanted Cousins. I've been consistent on this board about wanting to acquire him.

Danny and Brad obviously elected not to pursue him.

Might they know something that we do not? That's 100% certain to be true.

Maybe they have an inkling that Cousins wouldn't resign here. Maybe they knew that he couldn't be happy in Boston. Maybe they knew the Boston media would drive him nuts. Maybe they believe that his style of play would harm the rest of the team. Maybe they knew he is truly a locker room cancer. Maybe they have other targets that better fit the team's style of play and chemistry.

I don't know which one it is. Yes, we could have easily beaten the deal from the Pels to get Cousins. But it's often said that sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something.In this case, Danny and Brad decided that was the best course of action.

So this trade elicits a shrug from me. Not because I don't think Danny/Brad can do no wrong but because they obviously had strong reasons - even if they're unbeknownst to us - to not make this deal. Perhaps when they realize this some of the more emotional contributors to CB will calm down.

You're talking about a man who shugged off a trade for Ibaka because he didn't want to give up Terry Rozier...

And a man who apparently shugged off a trade for Cousins because he wasn't interested at all..

And a man who apparently has no interest in Monroe because he doesn't shoot threes....

And a man who apparently hasn't yet made a deal for Butler because he dosn't want to include the 2017 Brooklyn first...

And a man who just committed $28M a year over the next four years to a 30 year old declining Al Hoford who, even in his prime, wasn't worth that kind of money.

And a man who likely only did that Hoford deal because he felt it gave him a better chance at getting Durant...who then spat in his face by turning and walking straight to Golden State.

Yeah...I have so much faith in this guy.

If Ainge wants to prove that he's such a great GM, and that letting these deals go were for the better, then he can find a way to get Butler or George to Boston.  Then I'll forgive him. 

If he can't do that, or somehow get somebody similarly good, then as far as i'm concerned they may as well fire him now.

You may have a point. On the other hand there may be a lot of logistics and financial parameters Danny has to think about before signing a player like Cousins and the others you mentioned. For example, if DeMarcus is looking for $200 million, then how does this affect his ability to sign other players?

[Granath]

Ugh.  I'm just so disappointed at this point that I don't even care anymore.  How long as Danny been promising his ****ty fireworks?  Yea, so much for fireworks. 

2008 was 9 years ago.  Before 2008 it was 20 some odd years.  I'm starting to see a pattern here.  We only have one more decade to go to win another championship.

I've been asking Danny's apologists for a while now, when are you going to stop making excuses for this guy?  When are you going to stop rationalizing his every awful moves or lack off?  When are you going to hold him accountable?  When are you going to put 2008 behind you and make demands for another one?

I'm so sick of this sh!t.

1. Danny never, ever promised fireworks. That was Wyc. Get your facts straight.

2. Awful moves? We're on pace to be a 50+ win team who very well may have 3 straight top 5 picks. Never in the history of the NBA has that been done.

Perspective is a wonderful thing, my friend. I suggest you try it sometime. Please feel free to go visit the Brooklyn board. I'm sure you'll get some perspective over there.

[hwangjini_1]

Ugh.  I'm just so disappointed at this point that I don't even care anymore.  How long as Danny been promising his ****ty fireworks?  Yea, so much for fireworks. 

2008 was 9 years ago.  Before 2008 it was 20 some odd years.  I'm starting to see a pattern here.  We only have one more decade to go to win another championship.

I've been asking Danny's apologists for a while now, when are you going to stop making excuses for this guy?  When are you going to stop rationalizing his awful moves or lack off?  When are you going to hold him accountable?  When are you going to put 2008 behind you and make demands for another one?

I'm so sick of this sh!t.

first off, wyc promised fireworks, not ainge.

second, you need to put more trust in the basketball judgement of ainge and the other 27 GMs who decided that was the market price for cousins, AND, that it was a higher price than they were willing to pay.

let's collectively face it. the general lust and desire exhibited on this board was misplaced by putting it on cousins. his warts are more considerable than we imagined.

no championships since 2008? life's a true Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.. aside from a handful of teams, most other cannot even claim that.

this trade shows that something we dont expect can happen. so far, ainge has provided us all with BOTH a total rebuild, AND, an entertaining and good basketball team.

this is still within the parameters of the rebuild time (5 years) many of us projected. ainge has exceeded expectations.

a bit more patience folks.

[spikelovetheCelts]

Ugh.  I'm just so disappointed at this point that I don't even care anymore.  How long as Danny been promising his ****ty fireworks?  Yea, so much for fireworks. 

2008 was 9 years ago.  Before 2008 it was 20 some odd years.  I'm starting to see a pattern here.  We only have one more decade to go to win another championship.

I've been asking Danny's apologists for a while now, when are you going to stop making excuses for this guy?  When are you going to stop rationalizing his awful moves or lack off?  When are you going to hold him accountable?  When are you going to put 2008 behind you and make demands for another one?

I'm so sick of this sh!t.

He still will become a free agent. We don't know if his agent told Danny he would not sign here. Please keep that in mind. He is not a model citizen like Paul George. If we get PG this becomes mute. IMO

[esel1000]

I would love an explanation from Danny, however it's both telling that this is the best deal the Kings can get and that they wanted to "build a culture free of Cousins."

[BitterJim]

Danny is almost like his pal, Doc.  They only shine when gifted superstars that makes it all happen.  Give them all the raw materials they need and they get exposed as the incompetent morons they are. 

I am livid.  This is unacceptable.  That that was all it took to get Cousins and he didn't do it?

The salt is real. Keep in mind its also 28 other teams who didnt give the Kings a better offer. It seems weird. I think danny is comitted to Al and would rather a guy like George.

Yea, a 30 year old Al Horford we're paying 26 million dollars year to average measly 14 points a game, that Al?  Yea, keep holding onto Al. 

You don't have George yet.  Reality as it stands right now, we have nothing.

Judging a player who's main contributions are his playmaking, defense, and intangibles by how many points he scores is a totally rational thought

May as well judge IT on his rebounding or Bradley on his blocks

There's a reason that Boston, Houston, and Washington all wanted Horford, and it's not just because they thought he would get them Durant or for him to come in and be their leading scorer

[greece66]

I am not so sure that Kings' return was as insignificant as people are making it out to be. They got a player (Buddy Hield) who was a lottery pick (just to be clear, I held a very low opinion of Hield before the draft and even lower now), a decent pick in a good draft, a second round pick in low 30s, most likely guaranteed that their pick is not going to Chicago, and fixed potential culture issues. Also, no longer there is a 200M question that would have obliterated cap space for the future. 2 picks are a big deal - combined they represent 8 player-years of rookie scale salaries and 16 of team control.
Also, Sacramento has WCS and Scal waiting for their minutes.
I do not know if they could have gotten a better deal, but this one does not look that horrible to me.
Quick reminder - almost every single person on this forum felt Rondo deal was really bad for us. Think about it again...

I strongly disagree that this was the right move for SAC.

But let's assume for the sake of the argument that trading DMC for picks, expirings and young talents was the right move.

Even so, I doubt that this was the best they could get. You yourself say that Hield is not a great talent (and I agree) and the picks are nothing special.

[Clench123]

Ugh.  I'm just so disappointed at this point that I don't even care anymore.  How long as Danny been promising his ****ty fireworks?  Yea, so much for fireworks. 

2008 was 9 years ago.  Before 2008 it was 20 some odd years.  I'm starting to see a pattern here.  We only have one more decade to go to win another championship.

I've been asking Danny's apologists for a while now, when are you going to stop making excuses for this guy?  When are you going to stop rationalizing his awful moves or lack off?  When are you going to hold him accountable?  When are you going to put 2008 behind you and make demands for another one?

I'm so sick of this sh!t.

So you are willing to give up Brown and a first + for a 100 game rental?

I'm willing to give up Brown and a first for a chance at a contender status.  And being a contender changes the (silly) assumption that he won't sign.  Winning changes everything. 

Brown plus couple other overrated "assets" on the team with a first (that is not Brooklyns)  is gross underpayment even for a Cousins 100 game rental.

[Clench123]

Ugh.  I'm just so disappointed at this point that I don't even care anymore.  How long as Danny been promising his ****ty fireworks?  Yea, so much for fireworks. 

2008 was 9 years ago.  Before 2008 it was 20 some odd years.  I'm starting to see a pattern here.  We only have one more decade to go to win another championship.

I've been asking Danny's apologists for a while now, when are you going to stop making excuses for this guy?  When are you going to stop rationalizing his awful moves or lack off?  When are you going to hold him accountable?  When are you going to put 2008 behind you and make demands for another one?

I'm so sick of this sh!t.

He still will become a free agent. We don't know if his agent told Danny he would not sign here. Please keep that in mind. He is not a model citizen like Paul George. If we get PG this becomes mute. IMO

Free Agents don't willingly sign here.  They have to be traded and then when they feel Boston from the inside rather than from the outside looking in, that's when everything changes.  I see him signing with Lakers in all honesty. 

[td450]

As great a player as Cousins is, everyone must admit he poses a major risk to a team with an almost perfect chemistry and psychological makeup. Boston is a no-nonsense town. He might not have been able to keep it together in a place like this.

Ainge has a team right now that you could keep together, and even with none of our additional assets kicking in, would probably get to 60 wins in two years. He should be risk averse. If he takes zero chances and drafts two top 4 players and brings in Zizic and Yabusele, we might be a 60 win team for a decade. Did he really need to take such a chance?

For all his massive production, Cousins is an inefficient player for someone at his peak. It would be very interesting to know what IT has said to management about this. I thought he was a guy who had the talent to put us over the top. I have to believe Ainge did his homework here.

One last point: the Pelicans have been a bit of a mess, and haven't been able to make use of talent up until now. They have a little over a year, then he is an unrestricted free agent. He could be on the market in the summer of 2018.

[BitterJim]

Ugh.  I'm just so disappointed at this point that I don't even care anymore.  How long as Danny been promising his ****ty fireworks?  Yea, so much for fireworks. 

2008 was 9 years ago.  Before 2008 it was 20 some odd years.  I'm starting to see a pattern here.  We only have one more decade to go to win another championship.

I've been asking Danny's apologists for a while now, when are you going to stop making excuses for this guy?  When are you going to stop rationalizing his awful moves or lack off?  When are you going to hold him accountable?  When are you going to put 2008 behind you and make demands for another one?

I'm so sick of this sh!t.

first off, wyc promised fireworks, not ainge.

second, you need to put more trust in the basketball judgement of ainge and the other 27 GMs who decided that was the market price for cousins, AND, that it was a higher price than they were willing to pay.

let's collectively face it. the general lust and desire exhibited on this board was misplaced by putting it on cousins. his warts are more considerable than we imagined.

no championships since 2008? life's a true ****. aside from a handful of teams, most other cannot even claim that.

this trade shows that something we dont expect can happen. so far, ainge has provided us all with BOTH a total rebuild, AND, an entertaining and good basketball team.

this is still within the parameters of the rebuild time (5 years) many of us projected. ainge has exceeded expectations.

a bit more patience folks.

Exactly this.  Some people seem to have forgotten everything that happened between June 17th, 2008 and June 27th, 2013 and decided that that was all rebuilding/Danny doing everything he could to prevent us winning a championship

[BitterJim]

Ugh.  I'm just so disappointed at this point that I don't even care anymore.  How long as Danny been promising his ****ty fireworks?  Yea, so much for fireworks. 

2008 was 9 years ago.  Before 2008 it was 20 some odd years.  I'm starting to see a pattern here.  We only have one more decade to go to win another championship.

I've been asking Danny's apologists for a while now, when are you going to stop making excuses for this guy?  When are you going to stop rationalizing his awful moves or lack off?  When are you going to hold him accountable?  When are you going to put 2008 behind you and make demands for another one?

I'm so sick of this sh!t.

He still will become a free agent. We don't know if his agent told Danny he would not sign here. Please keep that in mind. He is not a model citizen like Paul George. If we get PG this becomes mute. IMO

Free Agents don't willingly sign here.  They have to be traded and then when they feel Boston from the inside rather than from the outside looking in, that's when everything changes.  I see him signing with Lakers in all honesty.

Jesus Christ, not this Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. again

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Horford

[TheSlipperyWhistle]

So, I heard some speculation that part of the reason we turned away from a Cousins deal was to focus on Butler. If this is true, and we trade the nest away for Butler, I will finally FINALLY be willing to say Ainge made a truly Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. decision. We are FINE at the swing, A OK. Present = Crowder (good player, great chemistry guy, bargain contract). Future = Brown (athleticism, flashes of shooting, ability to create his own shots, still a rookie). Bigs:

Jerebko: Decent stats for a contract flexible guy. Streaky shooter. Plays decent defense.
Olynyk: Good shooter, pulls bigs out to open up the lane for Isaiah, improving defense, decent on closeouts.
Horford: OK shooter, great playmaker from the post, OK rebounder, can make up for blown team defense with shot blocking

Cousins: Walking Triple Double Threat. Shoots well, Rebounds well, blocks shots, plays good defense, pulls bigs out to the three.

The upgrade at this position is SIGNIFICANT compared to Butler over Jae. ANNNNNND Chicago is going to ask a TOOOONNN for Butler. If we could have had Cousins for the castoffs that Sac just got, I would have done it in a heartbeat.

Lets propose a comparable Celtics package:

Jaylen Brown replaces Buddy Hield and Second Rounder
Amir Johnson replaces Galloway
2018 BKL replaces NOP 1st

Casspi / Evans offset so I will not make comparison.

I think its reasonable to assume we could have had Cousins for Jaylen, Amir, and the 2018 Nets pick. Add a second rounder in there maybe and we have the package.

I would begrudgingly give this package up for Cousins. I love Brown, and we may regret it, but he would be in Sacto, far away from us.

[Tr1boy]

I would love an explanation from Danny, however it's both telling that this is the best deal the Kings can get and that they wanted to "build a culture free of Cousins."

Danny will never say

Except the fact he has already stated he is not willing to give up assets for short term rentals..... Unless the rental is KG calibre