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In a tale of dysfunction that gets more spectacular by the hour, Sacramento Kings coach George Karl wants to acquire Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson, forward Wilson Chandler, and forward/center Kenneth Faried, according to multiple reports.
While DeMarcus Cousins' name has been attached to Kings trade chatter in the wake of a report late Monday that Karl wants to rid himself of the franchise center, a deal could also involve small forward Rudy Gay, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard. Previous reports had the Kings shopping Gay.
Karl previously coached Lawson, Chandler, and Faried in Denver. In another angle to this story Hollywood screenwriters would have trouble devising, the Nuggets now feature former Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro in an executive role and previously-fired Kings coach Michael Malone on the bench.
While the Lawson-to-Sacramento rumors existed before the latest Cousins-Karl saga, adding salary like Chandler, and especially Faried, to a deal complicates matters. Faried's contract features a poison pill provision, according to CBS Sports' Ken Berger, and would be difficult to move before July.
Karl is reportedly pushing to put "the band back together" from his Nuggets days, even as Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and new vice-president Vlade Divac continue to strongly deny there's any intent to trade Cousins, a top-10 player in the NBA.
Further to Lawson, the six-year veteran from North Carolina is one of the players who previously posted a coded "snakes in the field" tweet that has been dug up in the wake of Cousins' response to Monday's rumors.
