Official Trade Thread - Part XXXI

[dckingsfan]

When are you guys going to accept what I've been saying for many years?

Boogie Cousins is better than Wall.

You can't trade Beal for Cousins. You can't trade Beal and Gortat for Cousins. You very likely can't even trade Wall straight up for Cousins.



(I drop the mic and walk off now ...)

Dammit - watch where you drop the mic

Question: Lots of talk saying he isn't going to resign in Sac. Do you think they move him next year in anticipation? I am thinking that some team with a lot of picks will plop down a player or two and a couple of firsts. Am I overthinking it?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Yes, I think this year DeMarcus Cousins will be traded.

Boston or LAL will be the most likely trade partners. The Lakers always get a dominant big man. It's a great market. Boston has the trade assets to pull it off.

I could also see the Philadelphia 76ers putting together a very nice trade package for Boogie, if they can match salary.

I think the Wizards might as well throw an absurd offer out there. (Beal, Gortat, and a 1st sounds possible)

[dckingsfan]

Yes, I think this year DeMarcus Cousins will be traded.

Boston or LAL will be the most likely trade partners. The Lakers always get a dominant big man. It's a great market. Boston has the trade assets to pull it off.

I could also see the Philadelphia 76ers putting together a very nice trade package for Boogie, if they can match salary.

I think the Wizards might as well throw an absurd offer out there. (Beal, Gortat, and a 1st sounds possible)

I would do that in a heartbeat. But I guess that would just be the start of the bidding. Guessing that Boston could more than match with players and picks and Philly with picks and eating payroll.

[gambitx777]

If Thomas balls out and kelly shows up and MT can hang and eddie and house do their jobs I don't have a problem trading beal, I would push another piece or two other than gortat, but what ever, putting john and boogie together again would be gold.

[payitforward]

...Looks like the Celtic have hit that awkward moment when hoarding assets and you run out of spots on the team to keep them all. I would be down to trade eddie or future second for Hunter or young. Eddie because they can cut him for nothing. Young and Hunter are both on guaranteed deals so if they have to cut them they have to pay the full deals. It would make more sense to trade someone before then.

Gambit -- that's by no means an "awkward moment" the Celtics are in. It's a great spot -- if those assets have value, and in this case they do.

They have 19 guys, but 2 of them are camp fodder (georges-hunt and holland). Bentil is unlikely to make the team, but if he shows extremely well in camp he'll be tradable for a R2 pick. Gerald Green signed for 1 year/$1.4m -- he's another guy you might be able to trade for a R2 pick. Jerebko is expiring, and he too is a tradable asset.

If you think they'll trade Young or Hunter for Eddie, man... you really are a dreamer!

If they want to keep green and Jerebko, and just want to save the money, yeah they could. when I said trade someone I was talking about the guys you mentioned too. It all comes down to their mindset, and who they like. From the reports that I read, its down to 3 or 4 guys to make that last spot, and two of them have guaranteed deals. If your mind is made up on the other 14, and you have to choose between eating that money or sacking it off to get a fodder guy with a non guaranteed deal or a second, that is a reasonable deal to look at if that is your mindset.

Not really. Why wouldn't you trade for a pick -- any pick in any year in the future -- instead of taking someone to cut him? If you could, I mean -- and I think you could. If someone wants the guy you are ridding yourself of, it makes more sense to insure you get him than to hope you do if he's cut. If you think he is an asset w/ value, then you give something of value to get him.

Anyway... we'll see -- I might turn out to be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. My real point was that, no, having lots of assets is not any kind of "awkward moment." The more you have the better off you are.

[payitforward]

Yes, I think this year DeMarcus Cousins will be traded.

Boston or LAL will be the most likely trade partners. The Lakers always get a dominant big man. It's a great market. Boston has the trade assets to pull it off.

I could also see the Philadelphia 76ers putting together a very nice trade package for Boogie, if they can match salary.

I think the Wizards might as well throw an absurd offer out there. (Beal, Gortat, and a 1st sounds possible)

I would do that in a heartbeat. But I guess that would just be the start of the bidding. Guessing that Boston could more than match with players and picks and Philly with picks and eating payroll.

Because Sac'to doesn't think Cousins will re-sign, they will be willing to trade him for less than they might really want -- in order not to lose him for nothing.

That said, the over-rating of DMC just won't stop. The NBA isn't a talent show, no matter what you think. It's about winning and losing. If your C turns it over 5 times every 40 minutes and shoots a low % for a big, what is he doing to help you? Scoring a lot of points at low efficiency is how you help your team lose -- not win.

[payitforward]

If Thomas balls out and kelly shows up and MT can hang and eddie and house do their jobs I don't have a problem trading beal, I would push another piece or two other than gortat, but what ever, putting john and boogie together again would be gold.

That's an awful lot of ifs, gambit! And you are looking for Eddie and House to be effective NBA players? And Tomas is supposed to come over and tear it up? And Oubre is supposed to do... what?

What makes Beal the ideal guy to put into a trade for Cousins (not that I'd trade for him... but if you were going to) is that like Cousins he's way over-rated.

Just so it's clear what I mean -- if you took Gortat and his numbers away from last year, and you substituted Cousins numbers (they played almost the same # of minutes), the Wizards would have had a worse record. Significantly worse.

Gortat was the better rebounder. Gortat turned it over way less. Gortat fouled less.

Every 40 minutes, DMC took 11 more shots than Gortat. You want to know how many extra points those extra shots gave his team? 7.2 more points. I.e. Cousins shot 33% on those extra shots. If he'd been with us instead of Gortat -- those 11 shots would have been taken away from guys who shot a lot better than 33%. That would have cost us points.

Now, he made up for a lot of that by getting the line 8.4 more times than Gortat! But, overall, his TS% was way way lower than Marcin's.

Cousins is enormous, and he's incredibly gifted. Unfortunately, he doesn't use those gifts in the most productive way on the basketball court. Trade him here straight up for Gortat, and we're a worse team.

Of course he could play totally differently. But... why can't I say that about any player in the league? By and large, that's not what happens.

My best guess is he winds up a New York Knick -- they love guys like him. They already went out and showered $$ on Derrick Rose who looks to be completely done as a player.

[gambitx777]

If Thomas balls out and kelly shows up and MT can hang and eddie and house do their jobs I don't have a problem trading beal, I would push another piece or two other than gortat, but what ever, putting john and boogie together again would be gold.

That's an awful lot of ifs, gambit! And you are looking for Eddie and House to be effective NBA players? And Tomas is supposed to come over and tear it up? And Oubre is supposed to do... what?

What makes Beal the ideal guy to put into a trade for Cousins (not that I'd trade for him... but if you were going to) is that like Cousins he's way over-rated.

Just so it's clear what I mean -- if you took Gortat and his numbers away from last year, and you substituted Cousins numbers (they played almost the same # of minutes), the Wizards would have had a worse record. Significantly worse.

Gortat was the better rebounder. Gortat turned it over way less. Gortat fouled less.

Every 40 minutes, DMC took 11 more shots than Gortat. You want to know how many extra points those extra shots gave his team? 7.2 more points. I.e. Cousins shot 33% on those extra shots. If he'd been with us instead of Gortat -- those 11 shots would have been taken away from guys who shot a lot better than 33%. That would have cost us points.

Now, he made up for a lot of that by getting the line 8.4 more times than Gortat! But, overall, his TS% was way way lower than Marcin's.

Cousins is enormous, and he's incredibly gifted. Unfortunately, he doesn't use those gifts in the most productive way on the basketball court. Trade him here straight up for Gortat, and we're a worse team.

Of course he could play totally differently. But... why can't I say that about any player in the league? By and large, that's not what happens.

My best guess is he winds up a New York Knick -- they love guys like him. They already went out and showered $$ on Derrick Rose who looks to be completely done as a player.

That's why I said I would rather keep gortat in this trade lol. I fell like you always pick out what you want to see in my posts and not always what I say. I am irrationally all in on tomas, that man will be a revelation. mark it down. IMO if you can move beal early, before he gets hurt for a piece like DC, do it. just in terms of value. I would push for a Beal, Morris and a first, before i try to trade gortat, you would have one of the top frontcourts in the league. DC should be a PF imo any way. The wall effect would help him too. Now I am not one of those Got get DC guys, Im just saying it could work if you do it right.

Not really. Why wouldn't you trade for a pick -- any pick in any year in the future -- instead of taking someone to cut him? If you could, I mean -- and I think you could. If someone wants the guy you are ridding yourself of, it makes more sense to insure you get him than to hope you do if he's cut. If you think he is an asset w/ value, then you give something of value to get him.

Anyway... we'll see -- I might turn out to be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. My real point was that, no, having lots of assets is not any kind of "awkward moment." The more you have the better off you are.

In my original post I did mention Eddie or a second round pick. It is an awkward situation because if you have more assets than spots and end up having to get rid of one of them and pay to do so, then its a definitely negative return on that asset. Hence the reason they should move him to at least break even on one of them over paying to cut them.

[dckingsfan]

Yes, I think this year DeMarcus Cousins will be traded.

Boston or LAL will be the most likely trade partners. The Lakers always get a dominant big man. It's a great market. Boston has the trade assets to pull it off.

I could also see the Philadelphia 76ers putting together a very nice trade package for Boogie, if they can match salary.

I think the Wizards might as well throw an absurd offer out there. (Beal, Gortat, and a 1st sounds possible)

I would do that in a heartbeat. But I guess that would just be the start of the bidding. Guessing that Boston could more than match with players and picks and Philly with picks and eating payroll.

Because Sac'to doesn't think Cousins will re-sign, they will be willing to trade him for less than they might really want -- in order not to lose him for nothing.

That said, the over-rating of DMC just won't stop. The NBA isn't a talent show, no matter what you think. It's about winning and losing. If your C turns it over 5 times every 40 minutes and shoots a low % for a big, what is he doing to help you? Scoring a lot of points at low efficiency is how you help your team lose -- not win.

Good point but...

I think moving either Wall or Beal would be a good thing.

I think a Cousins/Mahinmi would trump a Gortat/Morris tandem. I think a Wall/Cousins tandem will either blow up or they will blow up (one in the good way, the other not so much).

I also think that DMC's A/TO ration is decent for a C. I think he may force passes - but he is trying to pass. I think his A/TO ratio is better than Gortat's.

I also would rather see a Satoransky/Porter duo that Beal/Porter - I know, I know - what the H&LL am I talking about - I will concede this point in advance

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

If Thomas balls out and kelly shows up and MT can hang and eddie and house do their jobs I don't have a problem trading beal, I would push another piece or two other than gortat, but what ever, putting john and boogie together again would be gold.

That's an awful lot of ifs, gambit! And you are looking for Eddie and House to be effective NBA players? And Tomas is supposed to come over and tear it up? And Oubre is supposed to do... what?

What makes Beal the ideal guy to put into a trade for Cousins (not that I'd trade for him... but if you were going to) is that like Cousins he's way over-rated.

Just so it's clear what I mean -- if you took Gortat and his numbers away from last year, and you substituted Cousins numbers (they played almost the same # of minutes), the Wizards would have had a worse record. Significantly worse.

Gortat was the better rebounder. Gortat turned it over way less. Gortat fouled less.

Every 40 minutes, DMC took 11 more shots than Gortat. You want to know how many extra points those extra shots gave his team? 7.2 more points. I.e. Cousins shot 33% on those extra shots. If he'd been with us instead of Gortat -- those 11 shots would have been taken away from guys who shot a lot better than 33%. That would have cost us points.

Now, he made up for a lot of that by getting the line 8.4 more times than Gortat! But, overall, his TS% was way way lower than Marcin's.

Cousins is enormous, and he's incredibly gifted. Unfortunately, he doesn't use those gifts in the most productive way on the basketball court. Trade him here straight up for Gortat, and we're a worse team.

Of course he could play totally differently. But... why can't I say that about any player in the league? By and large, that's not what happens.

My best guess is he winds up a New York Knick -- they love guys like him. They already went out and showered $$ on Derrick Rose who looks to be completely done as a player.

Just ignore the rebounds and the pressure he puts on other teams.

Here's what Coach K said last month:

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/coach-k-demarcus-cousins-in-unbelievable-shape/

Coach K on DeMarcus Cousins: ‘Our relationship is really good. And he’s gotten in unbelievable shape for this; he wants to be here’

Coach K on DeMarcus Cousins: ‘He’s improved tremendously. He’s gotten better and I know him better both as a guy and as a player.’

[Dat2U]

If Thomas balls out and kelly shows up and MT can hang and eddie and house do their jobs I don't have a problem trading beal.

So basically it's either when hell freezes over or when the cow actually jumps over the moon.

[Dat2U]

The NBA isn't a talent show, no matter what you think.

Woah, I couldn't disagree with you any more on this. The NBA is ALL ABOUT TALENT! You can't win consistently without elite talent. Despite those TOs and missed shots, the lousy no-account Kings actually outscore their opponents when DeMarcus is on the floor. Without him, they get outscored by -6.6 pts per 100 possessions. This is what I mean when I say production is not a zero sum game. You can't simply add up the positive statistics and subtract the negative statistics to get a player's true value. The game is so much more than that.

[Dat2U]

Just so it's clear what I mean -- if you took Gortat and his numbers away from last year, and you substituted Cousins numbers (they played almost the same # of minutes), the Wizards would have had a worse record. Significantly worse.

Gortat was the better rebounder. Gortat turned it over way less. Gortat fouled less.

Every 40 minutes, DMC took 11 more shots than Gortat. You want to know how many extra points those extra shots gave his team? 7.2 more points. I.e. Cousins shot 33% on those extra shots. If he'd been with us instead of Gortat -- those 11 shots would have been taken away from guys who shot a lot better than 33%. That would have cost us points.

Now, he made up for a lot of that by getting the line 8.4 more times than Gortat! But, overall, his TS% was way way lower than Marcin's.

Cousins is enormous, and he's incredibly gifted. Unfortunately, he doesn't use those gifts in the most productive way on the basketball court. Trade him here straight up for Gortat, and we're a worse team.

Of course he could play totally differently. But... why can't I say that about any player in the league? By and large, that's not what happens.

My best guess is he winds up a New York Knick -- they love guys like him.

Absolute nonsense. Gortat is a low usage player. He isn't asked to do nearly as much as Cousins is tasked with offensively. So if Gortat is not using those possessions, it means other players have to use them. So instead we get Wall & Beal burning possessions with mid-range jumpers or we might get left with a Markieff Morris 20 footer. Or Garrett Temple open on the wing. Whatever the case, it's options that the defense prefers as opposed to getting bullied in the paint by Cousins. He demands attention meaning other guys get better looks because Cousins is the focus of defenses. Gortat is only a concern off the P&R with Wall. Gortat needs good guard play to be effective. Cousins simply needs the ball. Of course, Cousins could be more efficient, if he's surrounded by better talent.

[payitforward]

Just so it's clear what I mean -- if you took Gortat and his numbers away from last year, and you substituted Cousins numbers (they played almost the same # of minutes), the Wizards would have had a worse record. Significantly worse.

Gortat was the better rebounder. Gortat turned it over way less. Gortat fouled less.

Every 40 minutes, DMC took 11 more shots than Gortat. You want to know how many extra points those extra shots gave his team? 7.2 more points. I.e. Cousins shot 33% on those extra shots. If he'd been with us instead of Gortat -- those 11 shots would have been taken away from guys who shot a lot better than 33%. That would have cost us points.

Now, he made up for a lot of that by getting the line 8.4 more times than Gortat! But, overall, his TS% was way way lower than Marcin's.

Cousins is enormous, and he's incredibly gifted. Unfortunately, he doesn't use those gifts in the most productive way on the basketball court. Trade him here straight up for Gortat, and we're a worse team.

Of course he could play totally differently. But... why can't I say that about any player in the league? By and large, that's not what happens.

My best guess is he winds up a New York Knick -- they love guys like him.

Absolute nonsense. Gortat is a low usage player. He isn't asked to do nearly as much as Cousins is tasked with offensively. So if Gortat is not using those possessions, it means other players have to use them.

I agree completely! Well... except that Gortat is more of an "average usage" Center than low usage. But all the same you are right that Cousins dominates offense on his team.

In fact, not just on his team: DeMarcus Cousins took more shots per 40 minutes than any other player in the NBA (w/ the sole exception of Kobe on his goodbye tour - he took .2 more shots per 40 minutes than DMC).

That's right: more shots than Stephen Curry. More shots than Kevin Durant. More shots than Kyrie Irving. More shots than Damien Lillard. More shots than Carmelo Anthony. More shots than LeBron James. More shots than... well, you get the idea.

But, unlike every other one of those players, DeMarcus Cousins' shots went in at a low %. Cousins likes to get the ball, turn and face the bucket, do a bunch of dribbling and then either turn the ball over or take and miss a jumper. No other C in the league is anywhere near Cousins in turnovers. No PF in the league is anywhere near Cousins in TOs. The only players in the league who turn the ball over more than DeMarcus Cousins are three PGs (Wall, Westbrook & Harden).

In 40 minutes, DMC takes 23.7 shots and has 4.4 TOs. Gortat takes 13.5 shots and has 2.1 TOs. Those numbers reflect Cousins using 12.5 more possessions than Marcin. He makes exactly 3 more shots doing that: b/c he shoots some 3s that is 7 extra points on 12.5 more possessions. Hence, when you go on to write...

So instead we get Wall & Beal burning possessions with mid-range jumpers or we might get left with a Markieff Morris 20 footer. Or Garrett Temple open on the wing....

...you must think that on 12.5 possessions by those guys we'd be likely to get less than 7 extra points? Because, if you don't think that, if you think that from every 12.5 possessions by Wall/Beal/Temple last year we got more than 7 points, then it's hard to see how this "instead" is a problem. In fact, of course, we did get more than 7 points per 12.5 possessions by those guys -- a lot more.

(Now, in fairness, I cheated here by leaving out Cousins' trips to the line, which improve his efficiency -- though not to the point of an average Center)

Still, mostly I agree with the picture in your mind. For example when you say about those Wall/Beal/Temple possessions that they are...

options that the defense prefers as opposed to getting bullied in the paint by Cousins

...you could not be more correct. In your mind. Because, in your mind, DeMarcus Cousins bullies people in the paint a lot. The problem is that he doesn't. In reality, what he mostly does is shoot a low % jumper or 3 or turn the ball over.

Now, if he did bully people in the paint consistently, he'd be one of the top Centers in the league -- he's enormous and enormously gifted, as I've said. But, alas, he doesn't like doing that. He likes to demonstrate that he has "skills."

He demands attention meaning other guys get better looks because Cousins is the focus of defenses.

Are you sure about that, Dat? Do other Kings' players actually shoot a higher % when he's on the floor than when he's off? Which they'd clearly do if they got better looks because of him. In fact, don't you think opposing coaches know what DMC's eFG% is? I'm thinking they'd be happy to let a guy have the ball who takes 28.1 tries (shots plus turnovers) to get his team 22.6 points! Just don't foul him.

One thing you are certainly right about: the rest of the Kings are a whole lot better shooters than DMC. In fact, despite his abysmal eFG% they were one of the best shooting teams in the league last year. Maybe they'd be better off if other guys shot more? And DeMarcus less?

DeMarcus Cousins is a tremendous talent. But he's not an outstanding NBA player. Maybe if he came here he would be? Then again....

[Ruzious]

Pif, Cousins was easily the second best player in the world in the Gold Medal game of the Olympics. There's something to be said for that. The US Olympic team coaches chose him to start at center in 5 of the 8 games - over DeAndre Jordan and Draymond Green. Green started zero games. The folks running the US team are probably the best basketball minds we got. They might even be smarter than us.

[payitforward]

Pif, Cousins was easily the second best player in the world in the Gold Medal game of the Olympics. There's something to be said for that. The US Olympic team coaches chose him to start at center in 5 of the 8 games - over DeAndre Jordan and Draymond Green. Green started zero games. The folks running the US team are probably the best basketball minds we got. They might even be smarter than us.

Cousins, as I've written repeatedly, is one of the greatest basketball talents of our era. In 2010, I'd have taken him over John Wall. I also don't credit the bad stuff people write about him as a person -- I haven't seen that.

I wonder how many times I'd have to write that kind of thing, which I've written here at least a dozen times, before I've made it clear that I think DeMarcus Cousins is a supremely talented basketball player.

DMC played 116+ minutes of Olympic basketball. He took 44 shots. That's 15 shots per 40 minutes. He shot @61%.

In fact, he started out shooting more frequently, then as the games got more important, he shot less. He played @83 minutes in the last 5 games and took only 27 shots - 13 shots per 40 minutes. And shot 59%+

One thing to learn, maybe, is that the right coach actually can get Cousins doing what he's supposed to do. Or, maybe it has to do w/ playing with a bunch of all stars who every one of them wants to shoot too!

[Ruzious]

Pif, Cousins was easily the second best player in the world in the Gold Medal game of the Olympics. There's something to be said for that. The US Olympic team coaches chose him to start at center in 5 of the 8 games - over DeAndre Jordan and Draymond Green. Green started zero games. The folks running the US team are probably the best basketball minds we got. They might even be smarter than us.

Cousins, as I've written repeatedly, is one of the greatest basketball talents of our era. In 2010, I'd have taken him over John Wall. I also don't credit the bad stuff people write about him as a person -- I haven't seen that.

I wonder how many times I'd have to write that kind of thing, which I've written here at least a dozen times, before I've made it clear that I think DeMarcus Cousins is a supremely talented basketball player.

DMC played 116+ minutes of Olympic basketball. He took 44 shots. That's 15 shots per 40 minutes. He shot @61%.

In fact, he started out shooting more frequently, then as the games got more important, he shot less. He played @83 minutes in the last 5 games and took only 27 shots - 13 shots per 40 minutes. And shot 59%+

One thing to learn, maybe, is that the right coach actually can get Cousins doing what he's supposed to do. Or, maybe it has to do w/ playing with a bunch of all stars who every one of them wants to shoot too!

At least it sounds like you realize that teammates and coaching do make a difference. You used to pretty much insist that they don't. Progress. He's played at a one-ringed circus in Sacramento.

[Ruzious]

Here's a trade idea thinking outside of something - if the Wiz doctor's buy in. Bosh and Tyler Johnson to the Wiz for Beal and Markeiff. This assumes the Wiz are playing for this year - which I think Grunfeld is. Johnson's an up and coming high-flying under-sized 2, but you can play an under-sized 2 with Wall. Keiff gives them a 4 to split time with McBob. Bosh is an obvious risk and 32 years old, but if he's healthy, he gives the Wiz respectability. And Miami hopes that Beal replaces Wade's production.

[payitforward]

Pif, Cousins was easily the second best player in the world in the Gold Medal game of the Olympics. There's something to be said for that. The US Olympic team coaches chose him to start at center in 5 of the 8 games - over DeAndre Jordan and Draymond Green. Green started zero games. The folks running the US team are probably the best basketball minds we got. They might even be smarter than us.

Cousins, as I've written repeatedly, is one of the greatest basketball talents of our era. In 2010, I'd have taken him over John Wall. I also don't credit the bad stuff people write about him as a person -- I haven't seen that.

I wonder how many times I'd have to write that kind of thing, which I've written here at least a dozen times, before I've made it clear that I think DeMarcus Cousins is a supremely talented basketball player.

DMC played 116+ minutes of Olympic basketball. He took 44 shots. That's 15 shots per 40 minutes. He shot @61%.

In fact, he started out shooting more frequently, then as the games got more important, he shot less. He played @83 minutes in the last 5 games and took only 27 shots - 13 shots per 40 minutes. And shot 59%+

One thing to learn, maybe, is that the right coach actually can get Cousins doing what he's supposed to do. Or, maybe it has to do w/ playing with a bunch of all stars who every one of them wants to shoot too!

At least it sounds like you realize that teammates and coaching do make a difference. You used to pretty much insist that they don't. Progress. He's played at a one-ringed circus in Sacramento.

Coaching can make a difference. How much difference is a question. And so is the number of coaches of whom it's true that they make a positive difference. In any case, no one would question that Coach K. is one of the greatest coaches.

As to teammates making a difference -- for sure if you play with Durant, Carmelo, Klay Thompson, etc. you won't get to dominate the ball!

But, as I said, the Kings were a pretty good shooting team last year -- not a one ring circus at all. In fact, as a team Sacramento last year had a slightly higher TS% than the Wizards.

I wouldn't say we were a particularly better team than Sacramento -- even if you left both teams' starting Centers. I'm sure that'll make homer Wizards fans howl, but the fact is that we were down a half a point a game to our opponents on the season, and they were down two and a half points to theirs -- and remember, the Kings are in the West and played a tougher schedule than ours.

[payitforward]

If Thomas balls out and kelly shows up and MT can hang and eddie and house do their jobs I don't have a problem trading beal, I would push another piece or two other than gortat, but what ever, putting john and boogie together again would be gold.

That's an awful lot of ifs, gambit! And you are looking for Eddie and House to be effective NBA players? And Tomas is supposed to come over and tear it up? And Oubre is supposed to do... what?

What makes Beal the ideal guy to put into a trade for Cousins (not that I'd trade for him... but if you were going to) is that like Cousins he's way over-rated.

Just so it's clear what I mean -- if you took Gortat and his numbers away from last year, and you substituted Cousins numbers (they played almost the same # of minutes), the Wizards would have had a worse record. Significantly worse.

Gortat was the better rebounder. Gortat turned it over way less. Gortat fouled less.

Every 40 minutes, DMC took 11 more shots than Gortat. You want to know how many extra points those extra shots gave his team? 7.2 more points. I.e. Cousins shot 33% on those extra shots. If he'd been with us instead of Gortat -- those 11 shots would have been taken away from guys who shot a lot better than 33%. That would have cost us points.

Now, he made up for a lot of that by getting the line 8.4 more times than Gortat! But, overall, his TS% was way way lower than Marcin's.

Cousins is enormous, and he's incredibly gifted. Unfortunately, he doesn't use those gifts in the most productive way on the basketball court. Trade him here straight up for Gortat, and we're a worse team.

Of course he could play totally differently. But... why can't I say that about any player in the league? By and large, that's not what happens.

My best guess is he winds up a New York Knick -- they love guys like him. They already went out and showered $$ on Derrick Rose who looks to be completely done as a player.

Just ignore the rebounds and the pressure he puts on other teams.

Here's what Coach K said last month:

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/coach-k-demarcus-cousins-in-unbelievable-shape/

Coach K on DeMarcus Cousins: ‘Our relationship is really good. And he’s gotten in unbelievable shape for this; he wants to be here’

Coach K on DeMarcus Cousins: ‘He’s improved tremendously. He’s gotten better and I know him better both as a guy and as a player.’

Sigh... CCJ, why don't you read what I actually said about DeMarcus Cousins, ok?

As to rebounds, are we into magical thinking, or do we look at actual numbers? Last year, Marcin Gortat got 13.1 rebounds per 40 minutes. DeMarcus Cousins got 13.3 -- so what part of rebounding am I ignoring? Btw, Gortat got more offensive boards. Oh, and don't you think one turnover kind of negates one rebound?

Let me put it differently: Cousins gets more steals than Gortat. Wouldn't you say that's better? That's performing at a higher level? I would -- and I don't see how anyone could deny it. That's a way DMC is better than MG.

How about turnovers? Or are we just going to explain those away? Do some more magical thinking?

As to pressure Cousins puts on other teams -- how? Are other teams scared he's going to block their shots? Is that it?

DMC is a supremely talented basketball player. If he played in the NBA at the level he played in the Olympics, he'd turn his talent into helping his team win. That's what Kevin Durant does. That's what DeAndre Jordan does. Etc.

And if DMC does play that way in the NBA next year, I'll be the first to point it out. Until then, he's a massive talent who doesn't put his talent to nearly as effective use as everyone wishes he would.