It has long been rumored that the Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls are working out a trade deal for DeMarcus Cousins. This deal could actually push through since Cousins has hinted that he wants to play for the Bulls.
Like most teams in the NBA, both the Bulls and the Kings took advantage of the offseason by rebuilding its roster. For the Sacramento organization, it released a few of its key players while Chicago improved its roster by letting go of Derrick Rose and getting Dwayne Wade.
Due to this rebuilding process, Cousins has been involved in various trade rumors. Most of these speculations stem from the alleged rift between the athlete and the team.
One of the teams that Cousins was linked with are the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to Morning Ledger, the Cavs reportedly became interested in getting the center after the Golden State Warriors snatched Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder. In an attempt to match Golden State's "super team," the Cavs tried to add Cousins to their roster.
However, for some reason, the deal between the Kings and the Cavs never materialized. But recently, an NBA insider tweeted that Cousins is interested in joining a different team.
According to Carlos Douglas Jr., Cousins has become close friends with Jimmy Butler of the Bulls. This happened just recently when the two got together in Rio with Team USA for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
But aside from being just friends with Butler, it seems Cousins also wants to be his teammate with the Bulls. As noted by Douglas, Cousins said that he is fond of Wade and Rajon Rondo. The latter, of course, was his former teammate in Sacramento before he was acquired by Chicago. As for Wade, maybe Cousins is just a big fan of the NBA legend.
However, if a trade between the Kings and the Bulls does pushes through, then it would mean that the Chicago franchise would have to send someone who is if equal value to Sacramento. After all, Cousins is already a superstar. During Team USA's debut at the Olympics, Cousins was already able to secure 17 minutes and five rebounds during the first quarter.
Although it is not yet clear who the Bulls could offer in exchange for Cousins, reports speculate that the team might trade Nikola Mirotic and Denzel Valentine for him.
