Report: Cousins Wants Max Extension Or Trade From Kings

[Krle_12]

^^the point is that we don't have a year to decide Faegan has made it clear that we extend cousins now with a max contract extension or he will be demanding a trade.

I would rather wait the year as well but that isn't an option.

Well, they'll need some sort of evaluation before signing him to a max contract. Midseason would be the more suitable option.

All extensions need to be done by October 31st which does not give us that luxury. Cousins will get his max from someone. No reason why it should not be from us.

[rpa]

Well, they'll need some sort of evaluation before signing him to a max contract. Midseason would be the more suitable option.

Deadline to sign extensions is October 31st (ie before the season starts).

^^the point is that we don't have a year to decide Faegan has made it clear that we extend cousins now with a max contract extension or he will be demanding a trade.

I would rather wait the year as well but that isn't an option.

Then you tell Fegan to go **** himself.

You goto him and you say "based on Cousins' play, behavior, etc." here's what we're willing to offer right now (less than max). You bring examples, stats, achievements, etc. You then say "but we agree that Cousins could easily be a max player. If he shows improvement this year and behaves then we'll give him a max contract".

Leverage wise, what exactly does Fegan have?
- He can't threaten to bolt next offseason; the Kings own matching rights
- Threatening to take the QO next summer and then leave the following summer would be akin to cutting off his nose to spite his face. Due to the CBA, Cousins would be out a ton of money by doing that.
- Cousins could play like crap this year or act like an ass, but then what are the chances that someone gives him the max?

Fegan believes he's negotiating from a position of strength. He sees a new ownership group and a new GM. He sees that they've all said Cousins is the core of this team. So he's saying "prove it". It's just the first foot put forward in negotiations. Kings management needs to stand their ground and not cave or they'll be walked over by everyone else.

[longfellow44]

^^I'm not sure that they even have that much time. He is officially elegible for the extension this summer, and holding off could cause them to demand a trade as they have already said was the case if that happens then Cousins value goes down, and we have burned a bridge and won't be able to extend him anyway.

Best thing to do is keep the relationship positive and realize that our new ownership group has already labeled him as the cornerstone of our franchise. We have a lot to lose if we don't play this right and as of right now the leverage is with Cousins and his agent. Our management can't come out right after calling him a cornerstone and refuse to pay him the max when lots of other teams in the league would pay him exactly that. That would make them look cheap and would immediately begin to erode their image as the guys who saved the kings from broke owners who mismanaged the team because they couldn't really afford to build a winning team.

[YC42Balla]

All extensions need to be done by October 31st which does not give us that luxury. Cousins will get his max from someone. No reason why it should not be from us.

Oh, wow, I wasn't aware of that. I thought the extension deadline was a week after all-star weekend. I've been playing too much NBA 2K, haha!

[XtotheDeezy]

What would it to get Cousins onto the Lakers? We can offer everyone except Kobe, even Dwight if he agrees to a S&T.

[408Kings]

^^I'm not sure that they even have that much time. He is officially elegible for the extension this summer, and holding off could cause them to demand a trade as they have already said was the case if that happens then Cousins value goes down, and we have burned a bridge and won't be able to extend him anyway.

Best thing to do is keep the relationship positive and realize that our new ownership group has already labeled him as the cornerstone of our franchise. We have a lot to lose if we don't play this right and as of right now the leverage is with Cousins and his agent. Our management can't come out right after calling him a cornerstone and refuse to pay him the max when lots of other teams in the league would pay him exactly that. That would make them look cheap and would immediately begin to erode their image as the guys who saved the kings from broke owners who mismanaged the team because they couldn't really afford to build a winning team.

Woops! I didn't realize the deadline for an extension was before the start of the season.

Regardless, I personally think the team has all the leverage at this point. What do the new owners know about Cousins?

1. He hasn't made the all-star team.
2. He hasn't led the league in rebounding.
3. He's 3rd in fouls/game (4th in total fouls, right behind D12 and Hibbert - but they're top 5 in blocks)
4. He's a helluva talent, but still hasn't proven he's not a headcase.

I agree that they should keep the relationship positive, especially so they can attract other free agents and players. But, there's still a lot that DMC needs to prove to show that he's deserving of a max deal, especially since he's working for new owners. You simply don't come in as a CEO of a company and automatically give someone a raise. You need to sit back, take a little time to evaluate the workforce, cut the fat, and keep the talented and hard working employees. To me, it would be more understandable if they were to cut ties with DMC (though I would be against that), since they don't really have any attachment to him. He's a project inherited from another GM.

Then you tell Fegan to go **** himself.

You goto him and you say "based on Cousins' play, behavior, etc." here's what we're willing to offer right now (less than max). You bring examples, stats, achievements, etc. You then say "but we agree that Cousins could easily be a max player. If he shows improvement this year and behaves then we'll give him a max contract".

Exactly my sentiments. I believe they'll tell him that with his talent and size, he's definitely worthy of a max contract. But the same thing that kept 4 other teams from drafting him should be the same thing that keeps him just shy of deserving a max deal. Fix that problem, and take your monies.

[longfellow44]

^^^don't get me wrong I completely agree with you, but faegan has a history of being unreasonable.

[rip17vietti]

What would it to get Cousins onto the Lakers? We can offer everyone except Kobe, even Dwight if he agrees to a S&T.

That's just as bad as a dodger fan asking if the Dodgers could get Buster Posey for anyone but Puig haha

[Gilles]

^^I'm not sure that they even have that much time. He is officially elegible for the extension this summer, and holding off could cause them to demand a trade as they have already said was the case if that happens then Cousins value goes down, and we have burned a bridge and won't be able to extend him anyway.

Best thing to do is keep the relationship positive and realize that our new ownership group has already labeled him as the cornerstone of our franchise. We have a lot to lose if we don't play this right and as of right now the leverage is with Cousins and his agent. Our management can't come out right after calling him a cornerstone and refuse to pay him the max when lots of other teams in the league would pay him exactly that. That would make them look cheap and would immediately begin to erode their image as the guys who saved the kings from broke owners who mismanaged the team because they couldn't really afford to build a winning team.

Extension is a likely way to go, but I would still make some demands back for signing new contract by the start of the season:
1. He must come in best shape of his life into training camp
2. He must work on his lower body strength this summer to be able to hold his position better, and maybe add an inch or two to his vertical.
3. Put a fine for every game he misses due to going over the season limit on technicals.

[Drwho17]

Trade him for Drummond and maybe a 1st round unprotected

Detroit laughs at you, unless SacTown is the one throwing in the pick, maybe for Monroe, not sure if they would do it straight up though, Monroe is so much more stable/consistent.

[longfellow44]

If we could put conditions on his max contract that would be great. Say one million of the total is a performance bonus.