We should trade Cousins ASAP

[City of Trees]

The heart of the issue for me is that I can't personally assess DMC's game/behavior independently from his relationship with Karl. That's my opinion though. If DMC doesn't like Karl or the way Karl is using him as a player, I think it might be in his makeup to check out on a coach he doesn't feel like going to battle with. So you could easily move him and watch him bounce back to a top talent under a coach he respects. Vlade has to be shrewd about this issue either way

DMC has argued with refs his entire NBA career. I can't blame transition D on Karl. According to Karl 40% of 3's made against Sac this season have come in transition.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

[Kings2013]

The heart of the issue for me is that I can't personally assess DMC's game/behavior independently from his relationship with Karl. That's my opinion though. If DMC doesn't like Karl or the way Karl is using him as a player, I think it might be in his makeup to check out on a coach he doesn't feel like going to battle with. So you could easily move him and watch him bounce back to a top talent under a coach he respects. Vlade has to be shrewd about this issue either way

DMC has argued with refs his entire NBA career. I can't blame transition D on Karl. According to Karl 40% of 3's made against Sac this season have come in transition.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

That doesn't come with the pace Karl is using?

Players giving effort/behavior in all areas can possibly be seen as a measure of how much they respect the coach. That's part of the job of a coach, engendering a relationship with your players so they fight for you. That's half the battle. He may even subconsciously want Karl fired, which could further be sabotaging that effort. Would the transition D be the same for a coach who personally had a good relationship with him (if KArl doesn't) and tried to accommodate him in the system (if KArl doesn't)? Under Malone were these things that big?

[Prethia]

I wont repeat myself 123932192319th time.If you want to believe that a new coach will make Cousins a normal person then it is normal for you to want Cousins in your team.But lets face the truth.We have a "superstar" who could not get along with 6 of 7 coaches we had.His %FG is really low for a Center.His TO is really high for a center.His stats are only high because he is Number 1 in the usage rate.This is his 5th or 6th year(I dont remember which one).We werent even close to 8th ranking in these years.If a team has a "superstar",I think it is normal for fans to expect something good from him.(At least 35-40 wins maybe(with bad players).)This year our team is the 5th or 6th most strongest team in west in terms of player quality and look at our results.I wont blame Karl for entire 6 years Cousins played.When I see a player who is a center,who shoots %29 from 3 pt line and who tries to shoot a three when we are behind by 2 pts in last 1 minute(and there are 20 seconds on the shotclock) I assume that he does not have a brain.We also lose without him because we dont have an another center who can play a lot of minutes.What I mean is that Koufos cannot play effectively for 35 minutes.And even if he played effectively for 35 minutes we dont have an another center to replace him.Before this year our back up center was Aaron Gray,Hayes etc.So it is normal that we lose without Cousins.What is not normal is that we still lose with our so called superstar.This year would be a lot better if we had a player like Whiteside instead of this stat freak.
Also for the last time I will write this statement:When we get rid of Cousins we will get another players.A lot of people are commenting like this team is trash without Cousins.But team wont be trash after we got new players.Cousins has a max contract.When we get rid of Cousins we will get new players and we we will get rid of his contract.So I want him to be traded before teams realise the truth about him.

I know,as an outsider(who dont even live in USA)I look at this subject different than you and I know you love him because he is loyal to city but I want this team to be successful as much as you and it is %99 clear that Cousins cannot carry a team to playoffs.I wrote what I hate about him in my previous posts and this post is like a conclusion

[SacKingZZZ]

I wont repeat myself 123932192319th time.If you want to believe that a new coach will make Cousins a normal person then it is normal for you to want Cousins in your team.But lets face the truth.We have a "superstar" who could not get along with 6 of 7 coaches we had.His %FG is really low for a Center.His TO is really high for a center.His stats are only high because he is Number 1 in the usage rate.This is his 5th or 6th year(I dont remember which one).We werent even close to 8th ranking in these years.If a team has a "superstar",I think it is normal for fans to expect something good from him.(At least 35-40 wins maybe(with bad players).)This year our team is the 5th or 6th most strongest team in west in terms of player quality and look at our results.I wont blame Karl for entire 6 years Cousins played.When I see a player who is a center,who shoots %29 from 3 pt line and who tries to shoot a three when we are behind by 2 pts in last 1 minute(and there are 20 seconds on the shotclock) I assume that he does not have a brain.We also lose without him because we dont have an another center who can play a lot of minutes.What I mean is that Koufos cannot play effectively for 35 minutes.And even if he played effectively for 35 minutes we dont have an another center to replace him.Before this year our back up center was Aaron Gray,Hayes etc.So it is normal that we lose without Cousins.What is not normal is that we still lose with our so called superstar.This year would be a lot better if we had a player like Whiteside instead of this stat freak.
Also for the last time I will write this statement:When we get rid of Cousins we will get another players.A lot of people are commenting like this team is trash without Cousins.But team wont be trash after we got new players.Cousins has a max contract.When we get rid of Cousins we will get new players and we we will get rid of his contract.So I want him to be traded before teams realise the truth about him.

I know,as an outsider(who dont even live in USA)I look at this subject different than you and I know you love him because he is loyal to city but I want this team to be successful as much as you and it is %99 clear that Cousins cannot carry a team to playoffs.I wrote what I hate about him in my previous posts and this post is like a conclusion

You are taking away the fact that Karls usage is almost the exact OPPOSITE of Cousins from the previous year. You know? That All-star year?

They won't get another talent like Cousins, that's for sure. If Cousins was playing in the same role as his career year and still a flop then you question what's up and whether he's as good as we think he is, but before you dump the guy, I say put him back in a role more fitting of his talent first. If that means finding a coach with a different philosophy then do it.

[Kings2013]

Also for the last time I will write this statement:When we get rid of Cousins we will get another players.A lot of people are commenting like this team is trash without Cousins.But team wont be trash after we got new players.Cousins has a max contract.When we get rid of Cousins we will get new players and we we will get rid of his contract.So I want him to be traded before teams realise the truth about him.

That's another part of the issue, NBA GMs know the truth about him. That's why they have jobs. They know he's playing like garbage under Karl, whether or not you believe Karl is the issue like I do. NBA GMs know he is shooting 41% and having off the court situations in this environment. Which is why IMO you will not get market value for his talent. It's selling him at his low value point. But everyone is entitled to their opinion

[heatcharger]

Would the Kings say no to this? Throw a pick in there and I think this is the best package you could get for him, makes a more balanced starting 5 in my opinion:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=h46g9f2

[bleeds_purple]

Would the Kings say no to this? Throw a pick in there and I think this is the best package you could get for him, makes a more balanced starting 5 in my opinion:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=h46g9f2

After the deal our two best players are Rondo and Beal. Gee, where do I sign up for that!

[rpa]

Would the Kings say no to this? Throw a pick in there and I think this is the best package you could get for him, makes a more balanced starting 5 in my opinion:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=h46g9f2

Offering Beal as the centerpiece for Cousins gets you laughed off the phone. He's about to be paid more than Cousins, has a recurring injury, and hasn't improved at all in his 4 years in the league (from a PER perspective he still isn't even an "average" player).

[heatcharger]

Would the Kings say no to this? Throw a pick in there and I think this is the best package you could get for him, makes a more balanced starting 5 in my opinion:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=h46g9f2

Offering Beal as the centerpiece for Cousins gets you laughed off the phone. He's about to be paid more than Cousins, has a recurring injury, and hasn't improved at all in his 4 years in the league (from a PER perspective he still isn't even an "average" player).

I kinda see why you feel that way, but at the same time, what's the best offer you're gonna get for Cousins? Beal has more potential than anybody the Celtics could give you, unless you think Jared Sullinger is some rising star.

[dozencousins]

Would the Kings say no to this? Throw a pick in there and I think this is the best package you could get for him, makes a more balanced starting 5 in my opinion:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=h46g9f2

RPA Was Certainly right the trade you proposed is not even remotely close . If I wasn't sure you were serious I would have thought it was a joke .

No Thank You

If anyone is to get CUZ will pay a hefty price to get him .
Alot of people think because CUZ gets angry & so on that we won't get much for him and that's an absolute joke .
If we were trading him we could easily fetch 2 x #1 picks + a young solid - stud player if not up to 3 x future 1sts .

Washington has nice players but the only reason why most Wizards & or their Media want CUZ is just to simply pair him back with Wall .
We have as much chance as dealing for Wall as they do for dealing CUZ and at this point neither side is going to get the others player .
Could we use Beal ? = Heck Yes but not at the expense of trading for CUZ .

Beal will want Max money & he is not worth the Max IMO

[Prethia]

Napears thoughts are another perspective.I dont know why Cousins has a fan base like this when he accomplished absolutely nothing in 6 years.Reke had 20-5-5 in his rookie season(4th people in NBA history) and he did not have %1 of the support which is given to DMC.This post will be the copy of Napears speech if I go on so I will stop in here.

https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/682609751553892352
What do you think about this trade?This is a good choice if we want to build for next years and survive from being a 25-29 win team which is the most useless record in NBA.Nets pick is a top 5 pick in the worst scenario.In best scenario it is Ben Simmons.Trading Gay would be the next step.I can see a team like this would be successful in 2-3 seasons.A team like our current team is not likely to be successful.There is no reason to believe that they will be successful.Casspi improved his game a lot.Rondo is consistent is having one of his better seasons.I do not think Karl is doing a good job but I would prefer a team like this with Karl as a coach instead of DMC doing everything he wants in court with an another coach.We are good in offence when Cousins does not try to shoot 3 pointers.We are bad in defence when we play with him,Belinelli sometimes Gay and Mclemore.This will be really hard decision but I think it will be the correct one also we will have a better chance to sign FAs.A lot of player do not want to play with Cousins and I can see why.

[dozencousins]

Napears thoughts are another perspective.I dont know why Cousins has a fan base like this when he accomplished absolutely nothing in 6 years.Reke had 20-5-5 in his rookie season(4th people in NBA history) and he did not have %1 of the support which is given to DMC.This post will be the copy of Napears speech if I go on so I will stop in here.

https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/682609751553892352
What do you think about this trade?This is a good choice if we want to build for next years and survive from being a 25-29 win team which is the most useless record in NBA.Nets pick is a top 5 pick in the worst scenario.In best scenario it is Ben Simmons.Trading Gay would be the next step.I can see a team like this would be successful in 2-3 seasons.A team like our current team is not likely to be successful.There is no reason to believe that they will be successful.Casspi improved his game a lot.Rondo is consistent is having one of his better seasons.I do not think Karl is doing a good job but I would prefer a team like this with Karl as a coach instead of DMC doing everything he wants in court with an another coach.We are good in offence when Cousins does not try to shoot 3 pointers.We are bad in defence when we play with him,Belinelli sometimes Gay and Mclemore.This will be really hard decision but I think it will be the correct one also we will have a better chance to sign FAs.A lot of player do not want to play with Cousins and I can see why.

FIrst off Bill Simmons is a doe hard Celtics fan with a hard on for CUZ his perspective is as Bias towards the Celtics as you can get as long as it benefits them . He has no credibility with me unless you are talking Celtic History and then I would have more belief in him than not .

I would agree to say if their was 1 team that could put the best package for CUZ if they wanted right now that would be Boston problem is they will try and give us far less than what we would want & they would down play CUZ'S value just as Simmons does which is smart in a business stand point of give as little as you have to so you can profit / reep the rewards as cheaply as possible . Sadly for Boston if they play around to much with any offers they could propose they will miss out on him 100% . If we ever trade CUZ we will not take a desperate approach or return .
The rarest position in all of Basketball to find dominant players at throughout history of the ABA & NBA is the Center position .
CUZ is a dominant player . He does have some bad games and because Karl for some idiotic reason is putting CUZ to deep outside his shooting percentage etc, has dropped ( not Cuz's fault if he is playing as told ) If they play him more in the paint & down on the
block his game would go back to being dominant every night . CUZ has very high NBA trade value .

[rpa]

I kinda see why you feel that way, but at the same time, what's the best offer you're gonna get for Cousins? Beal has more potential than anybody the Celtics could give you, unless you think Jared Sullinger is some rising star.

This year's Brooklyn pick is infinitely more valuable than Beal for starters. Then I think you could make solid arguments for the 2018 Brooklyn pick, the 2017 Brooklyn swap, and even the 2015 Dallas pick being more valuable than Beal because:
a) They'll likely be picks in the top half of the draft
b) Beal's injury issues
c) Beal's max contract demands (which he'll almost certainly get)
d) The rookie scale won't be adjusted to the new TV contract right away (rookie salaries are written into the CBA as static values--not values based on BRI) so those contracts that are already considered bargains turn into extreme bargains for the next couple years.

I don't think Beal has negative value or anything, but after he signs his contract he very well may. He shows flashes here and there (ie playoffs), but over a large sample size he flat out hasn't been that good.

So, to answer your question ("what's the best offer you're gonna get for Cousins"): I don't know but it sure as hell isn't hard to beat an offer centered around Beal.

[dozencousins]

I want to also add when You or anyone wants to point at the Coaches Cuz has had it is the most ignorant point anyonre can ever make in his case .
First Maloofs owned the team and they were not selling tickets and were not willing to pay any coach any value to land a true solid coach .

1. Westpaul got the Job because he wanted to Coach again and came relatively cheap . He was & always was an average Coach 100% offensive minded and he Coached a stacked team in Phoenix with Barkley , K.j. , Marjle , Hornacek , Chambers & so on that he had no hand in building .
2. Keith Smart = Never Coached & came cheap no real experience other that playing college on an NCAA championship team . He was average at best
3. Mike Malone = An awesome Coach IMO . Great relationship with CUZ & great defensive mind . ( We should never have fired him ) Biggest mistake ever so far by Vivek .
4. Tyrone Corbin = Great assistant under Pop IN SA but not made to be an NBA Head Coach . He is average at best . I truly felt sorry for him being an a no win position .
Previous GM was in Viveks ear all the time trying to get rid of Malone as he wanted Karl all the time he and Chris Mullin got in Viveks ear to much & thus created bot Malone & Corbin gone and now enter Karl .
5. KARL = A great Coach in his glory days however the game has passed him by . He everywhere he goes manipulates GM'S & MANAGEMENT into giving him majority control in all decisions giving him way to much power and uses that against hos players .
He cannot do that here as 1st thing he did was trying to get rid of CUZ for T.Lawson etc. what is he really doing now ?

Aside from Malone you nor anyone would really have an argument however even then you can't blame CUZ he had no hand other than being sick at the time to get Malone fired . You can blame Vivek and the Kings previous GM for that no to mention Karl for conspiring with the previous GM to get Malone fired .

Kings would be far better now if we had just kept Malone . End of story

Double post by mistake : Sorry

[Prethia]

FIrst off Bill Simmons is a doe hard Celtics fan with a hard on for CUZ his perspective is as Bias towards the Celtics as you can get as long as it benefits them . He has no credibility with me unless you are talking Celtic History and then I would have more belief in him than not .

The rarest position in all of Basketball to find dominant players at throughout history of the ABA & NBA is the Center position .
CUZ is a dominant player . He does have some bad games and because Karl for some idiotic reason is putting CUZ to deep outside his shooting percentage etc, has dropped ( not Cuz's fault if he is playing as told ) If they play him more in the paint & down on the
block his game would go back to being dominant every night . CUZ has very high NBA trade value .

I agree that Cousins performs 999x better in paint but the problem is that he played in there before Karl and that did not help us get 30 wins in a single season.Lets make this clear.I dont think a player who plays 25-10 with %38 percentage and 4 turnover in a game had a good game if he is a center.I do not even mention his lack of defensive effort at the moment. A dominant player in paint is Shaq.And like I said before no one will ever want Cousins to shoot 3 pts when we are behind by 2 pts in last minute and there is 20 seconds on the shotclock.His percentage is %29.Dont blame Karl for him selecting that shot.Karl and Cousins have a mutual agreement of making him stay in outside.They dont have a mutual agreement for Cousins shooting stepbacks or pull ups.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealsh01.html
Cousins is making good stats with bad percentage and high turnovers.In a lot of nights he is not making even an effort in defence and complains to ref in every single call.His talent level was enough to be superstar.But like Napear said there are two different Cousins and you cant split them.That is who Cousins is and it is not helping us.It is not only his gameplay.Fans are fed up because of his attitude.We either accept him like this or he should be gone.Now if he was a player like Lebron or Curry who would carry us to playoffs one could accept his attitude but he is not.He cant even get 30 wins.If he was dominant every night we would get 35-40 at least.He played 6 years for us.It is not his second or third year.We cannot assume he will fix his attitude or his percentage anymore.Time flies away fast and he is no longer that young player.What he does on the court(against GSW etc)is an insult to other players efforts.This is not the first time he did it.This wont be the last time he will do it.Everyone knows that.I want to see him with an another coach argument is getting old,Karl is his seventh coach not second or third.If he was a player like Shaq or Lebron than I am OK to pick a coach for him but he is not.Karl was successful in everywhere.Cousins was a failure in each season in terms of getting wins.If he is a superstar he should get wins.I think my point is clear enough.

I dont know anything about Bill Simmons but that trade looks fine to me.

Edit:I just read your comments about the coaches.About Malone your comment is fair enough.We would be better.But we werent a playoff team with Malone.Also I think Corbin is one of the worst coaches I ve ever seen.But the point is even when we have a coach who would get along with Cousins we are not being a winner team.Like I said put Shaq to our previous teams instead of cuz.He can alone make us a contender team.Thats the dominant big.Put Lebron,Curry,Durant into our previous teams.They make us a playoff team.Do you think Lebron carried Cavs to success because he had a good coach or Durant?Their coaches were even worse than ours.I can bet if Brooks coach Kings,%99 of the fans will want him resign in the end of a month.Same goes for Mike Brown

[dozencousins]

I want to also add when You or anyone wants to point at the Coaches Cuz has had it is the most ignorant point anyonre can ever make in his case .
First Maloofs owned the team and they were not selling tickets and were not willing to pay any coach any value to land a true solid coach .

1. Westpaul got the Job because he wanted to Coach again and came relatively cheap . He was & always was an average Coach 100% offensive minded and he Coached a stacked team in Phoenix with Barkley , K.j. , Marjle , Hornacek , Chambers & so on that he had no hand in building .
2. Keith Smart = Never Coached & came cheap no real experience other that playing college on an NCAA championship team . He was average at best
3. Mike Malone = An awesome Coach IMO . Great relationship with CUZ & great defensive mind . ( We should never have fired him ) Biggest mistake ever so far by Vivek .
4. Tyrone Corbin = Great assistant under Pop IN SA but not made to be an NBA Head Coach . He is average at best . I truly felt sorry for him being an a no win position .
Previous GM was in Viveks ear all the time trying to get rid of Malone as he wanted Karl all the time he and Chris Mullin got in Viveks ear to much & thus created bot Malone & Corbin gone and now enter Karl .
5. KARL = A great Coach in his glory days however the game has passed him by . He everywhere he goes manipulates GM'S & MANAGEMENT into giving him majority control in all decisions giving him way to much power and uses that against hos players .
He cannot do that here as 1st thing he did was trying to get rid of CUZ for T.Lawson etc. what is he really doing now ?

Aside from Malone you nor anyone would really have an argument however even then you can't blame CUZ he had no hand other than being sick at the time to get Malone fired . You can blame Vivek and the Kings previous GM for that no to mention Karl for conspiring with the previous GM to get Malone fired .

Kings would be far better now if we had just kept Malone . End of story

[dozencousins]

FIrst off Bill Simmons is a doe hard Celtics fan with a hard on for CUZ his perspective is as Bias towards the Celtics as you can get as long as it benefits them . He has no credibility with me unless you are talking Celtic History and then I would have more belief in him than not .

The rarest position in all of Basketball to find dominant players at throughout history of the ABA & NBA is the Center position .
CUZ is a dominant player . He does have some bad games and because Karl for some idiotic reason is putting CUZ to deep outside his shooting percentage etc, has dropped ( not Cuz's fault if he is playing as told ) If they play him more in the paint & down on the
block his game would go back to being dominant every night . CUZ has very high NBA trade value .

I agree that Cousins performs 999x better in paint but the problem is that he played in there before Karl and that did not help us get 30 wins in a single season.Lets make this clear.I dont think a player who plays 25-10 with %38 percentage and 4 turnover in a game had a good game if he is a center.I do not even mention his lack of defensive effort at the moment. A dominant player in paint is Shaq.And like I said before no one will ever want Cousins to shoot 3 pts when we are behind by 2 pts in last minute and there is 20 seconds on the shotclock.His percentage is %29.Dont blame Karl for him selecting that shot.Karl and Cousins have a mutual agreement of making him stay in outside.They dont have a mutual agreement for Cousins shooting stepbacks or pull ups.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealsh01.html
Cousins is making good stats with bad percentage and high turnovers.In a lot of nights he is not making even an effort in defence and complains to ref in every single call.His talent level was enough to be superstar.But like Napear said there are two different Cousins and you cant split them.That is who Cousins is and it is not helping us.It is not only his gameplay.Fans are fed up because of his attitude.We either accept him like this or he should be gone.Now if he was a player like Lebron or Curry who would carry us to playoffs one could accept his attitude but he is not.He cant even get 30 wins.If he was dominant every night we would get 35-40 at least.He played 6 years for us.It is not his second or third year.We cannot assume he will fix his attitude or his percentage anymore.Time flies away fast and he is no longer that young player.What he does on the court(against GSW etc)is an insult to other players efforts.This is not the first time he did it.This wont be the last time he will do it.Everyone knows that.I want to see him with an another coach argument is getting old,Karl is his seventh coach not second or third.If he was a player like Shaq or Lebron than I am OK to pick a coach for him but he is not.Karl was successful in everywhere.Cousins was a failure in each season in terms of getting wins.If he is a superstar he should get wins.I think my point is clear enough.

I dont know anything about Bill Simmons but that trade looks fine to me.

You need to remember that when CUZ has never been on a 30 win team as you keep mentioning .

1. He is not the only player on the roster . &

2. Half half his Carer he had the Maloofs own the team were they wouldn't pay any $$$$ to add any real talent to the roster & the other half had Vivek very stupidly fire Malone not CUZ'S fault and after that season ended Karl was hired only to immediatly try & back stab CUZ with his actions . How or why should CUZ trust KARL ?
It is very unfortunate for CUZ this far but this mess the organization is in is not his fault

[Prethia]

Ok,one last time I will write the problem and I will keep this short.Lebron carried a garbage team with a garbage coach to success in his first years.Kobe carried a really garbage team to playoffs.Durant carried a garbage coach to success.Shaq carried a good team to glory.Cousins cannot carry a bad coach to 30 wins.Cousins cannot carry a team with good players and coach like Karl to 30 wins.If he was a superstar or a really dominant player he had to make us win at least 35-40.Do you see the difference?
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2007.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2006.html
Do you think our team and coach is worse than this?

[dozencousins]

Ok,one last time I will write the problem and I will keep this short.Lebron carried a garbage team with a garbage coach to success in his first years.Kobe carried a really garbage team to playoffs.Durant carried a garbage coach to success.Shaq carried a good team to glory.Cousins cannot carry a bad coach to 30 wins.Cousins cannot carry a team with good players and coach like Karl to 30 wins.If he was a superstar or a really dominant player he had to make us win at least 35-40.Do you see the difference?
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2007.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2006.html
Do you think our team and coach is worse than this?

Your point is not the same for them as for CUZ . All their teams had owners whom would spend $$$ on players , Coaching staff & so on .
Cuz came in with ownership who were not going to do a damn thing to spend any $$$$$ to pay players , coaches , fix the arena & so on.
All other players you mentioned did not have that & that is huge having ownership that will do everything in the power t o improve a team , an organization & arena vs. not .

The fact you keep saying you will explain this one more time . You can stop that I as well as others whom may disagree with you are not stupid . I get what your trying to say but IMO you really don't have a fair point . You are not looking at all the facts . Only someone whom looks at all the facts and can back them all up can have a valid point .

I don't have the time to go back & forth with you on this as I feel it's a waste of my time .

Also for you to claim that Malone is an average coach if that because he had Lebron shows me even more you don't have a real argument . Malone was & is a really good coach the best coach we have had since ADELMAN .

[Bball0000]

Big men like Cousins don't come around often. The last all star type of player before Cousins was....Webber. Keep the good talent and then fill in the rest. It's easier finding 2nd tier players than players like Cousins. That's why most of the time I never believe in trading down-talent unless it's a rebuild.