Houston Rockets: Why A DeMarcus Cousins Trade Wouldn’t Work
The Houston Rockets and the rest of the Association have officially entered the lightning round before Thursday’s afternoon trade deadline.
The Houston Rockets and the rest of the Association have officially entered the lightning round before Thursday’s afternoon trade deadline.
Although there has been some heavy action, all is quiet on the Rockets’ front as things edge closer to Thursday.
It’s quite understandable as to why.
This team has remarkable chemistry and making a move would likely bust that up, sending us right back to the doldrums of 2015-16.
I don’t want to remember one bit of that season because it was filled with nothing but disappointment.
We still made the playoffs but we had an embarrassing showing against the Golden State Warriors.
That’s unacceptable and we knew something like that can’t happen again with all of the talent that has been assembled.
But as we fast forward to the present, this team has earned a 40-18 record, good for 3rd in the Western Conference and doesn’t have any signs of slowing down.
Which certainly alludes to the question of “why make a move?”
A minor move can still be made to increase the depth of this team but no core pieces should be traded in order to satisfy those needs.
There are a lot guys like Jarrett Jack and Mario Chalmers who are sitting on the couch waiting for the opportunity.
Could it be here?
Maybe soon.
But any way, a blockbuster trade was announced between the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical, the Kings have agreed to trade DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi in exchange for Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, Buddy Hield and their 2017 first and second-round picks.
The guys the Pelicans sent down have expiring — or close to expiring contracts — and Hield is still on his rookie deal.
My best guess is that Pelicans general manager Dell Demps is in the hot seat and a move needed to be made as the team was headed on a trajectory is missing the postseason yet again.
That’s quite a price to pay to land Cousins, who is in incredible NBA talent but has a lot of emotional baggage that comes attached to him.
The Pelicans are only 2.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the West so this could be a move where it puts them over the top.
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But that’s a deal that worked for the Pels — who are getting desperate — but would it work for the Houston Rockets?
My answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT.
For starters, we would’ve had to trade this year’s first-rounder, plus next year’s and they’d would want Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell and possibly Patrick Beverley or MORE.
Bringing a guy like Cousins in would severely disrupt team chemistry and we’ll be worse off than when we started.
In addition to the guys we’d lose, that’s part of the price to pay for the talent that we’d land.
Although I know Daryl Morey has contemplated trading for him over the years, now’s certainly the time not to do it when the recipe is just right.
In fact, aside from minor moves, this team is fine as is for now.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
Go Houston Rockets.