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NBA Trade Rumors: DeMarcus Cousins And John Wall To Celtics, Brook Lopez And Isaiah Thomas To Wizards In Blockbuster Four-Team Deal With Kings And Nets

Published on: November 30, 2016 at 6:05 PM
By Adrian Lawhorn

Recent NBA trade rumors have established a pattern of focusing on a particular group of teams and players. One of those players is Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, who has been mentioned in the rumor mill too many times to count since the end of the 2015-16 season. According to the Christian Times , the Kings may be entertaining thoughts of a deal with the Boston Celtics for Cousins . Many NBA observers expect Sacramento to move Cousins at some point during the current season, and the Celtics have long been looking to make a trade for a big-time player, but so far, the team has not been successful in their pursuit of a difference-maker.

The Ecumenical News reports that another star performer, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall, may also be on Boston’s radar as a potential trade target . Wall became part of the rumor mill gossip over the summer after he admitted during an interview that he and star teammate Bradley Beal do not see eye-to-eye on the basketball court. Ongoing friction between two star players can often lead to one of them being traded, so fans and media who follow the NBA are of the opinion that if Wall and Beal can’t resolve their differences, one of them may have to be sent elsewhere.

CBS Sports recently published a piece that discusses the Brooklyn Nets’ willingness to trade star center Brook Lopez . The Nets are in a rebuilding phase, and they feel they may need to unload Lopez for a package of assets that they can use to restock the roster and build a winning team with in the coming years. Interestingly, the article also states that one team that is not interested in Lopez is the Boston Celtics — this signals that if the Celtics and Nets get together on a deal involving Brook Lopez, there would need to be other teams involved in the transaction.

Current NBA trade rumors are buzzing about a possible four-team, eight-player, two-draft pick blockbuster deal between the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets, and Washington Wizards. The structure of this rumored proposal would see the Celtics acquiring DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall. The Wizards would receive Brook Lopez and point guard Isaiah Thomas. The Kings would come out of this transaction with small forward Jaylen Brown, point guard Marcus Smart, and the Nets’ first-round draft pick in 2017 (via Boston). Brooklyn would round things out by bringing in center Marcin Gortat, power forward Amir Johnson, and the return of their first-round draft choice in 2018 that the Celtics currently own.

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Even though this trade would have the Boston Celtics giving up a bevy of valuable assets, this would be a no-brainer for general manager Danny Ainge — particularly considering that Ainge seems to have no fear when it comes to making huge deals. Adding two superstars like Cousins and Wall to the team would be a rare opportunity that the Celtics would gladly accept. If the Brooklyn Nets are indeed ready to move on from Brook Lopez, this would appear to be a good deal for them as well. The drop-off from Lopez to Marcin Gortat is arguably not that great, although Lopez is the more skilled offensive player. The addition of Amir Johnson and a 2018 first-round pick is enough to cause the Nets to say “we’re in.”

Now we come to the teams who are giving up the best players in this hypothetical trade, Sacramento and Washington. The Kings may be tired of DeMarcus Cousins’ unpredictable personality, but they may not consider this rumored offer good enough to part with a dynamic talent like Cousins. Marcus Smart is a player the team could use, and Jaylen Brown is talented, but a bit of a wildcard at this point. The first-round pick they would receive is likely to be one of the first few picks in next year’s draft, so there is value there. It’s possible that Sacramento could be swayed to agree to this, but things with Cousins would have to become unbearable, and the Kings would have to feel that this is their best trade option.

The Washington Wizards’ part of this massive trade could be described as “fair value.” They would lose some punch at point guard, but gain some at center. Much like the Sacramento Kings’ situation, the Wizards would only be likely to pursue a deal like this if they felt compelled to unload John Wall or Bradley Beal due to their inability to coexist. If Washington finds themselves in that situation, this would be a solid move for them, but it’s doubtful they would move John Wall unless they had to.

Sometimes the latest batch of NBA trade rumors will reveal some intriguing trades, as theoretical as they may be. This one is more reasonable than most, and it even works under NBA trade and salary cap guidelines (per the ESPN NBA Trade Machine ). Despite that, it is unlikely that all four teams would agree to this rumored proposal — the Celtics and Nets would say yes, while the Kings and Wizards would have reason to give the offer a good look, but they would say no unless circumstances were to change.

[Featured Image by Rob Carr/Getty Images]

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