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It appears the Sacramento Kings and DeMarcus Cousins trade rumors have a new twist involved.
It was reported Monday by ESPN's Marc Stein that the Los Angeles Lakers were actively pursuing trade scenarios to acquire Cousins, rumors both Kings vice-president Vlade Divac and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive have denied.
Later Monday, Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that head coach George Karl's desire is to trade the center, and that he's gone as far as telling both Divac and Ranadive that he needs to be dealt.
Wojnarowski reports that Karl has been recruiting Divac and Kings players to help him convince Ranadive that Cousins needs to go, and that Ranadive is becoming irritated with Karl's insistence.
According to the report, Cousins has known of Karl's intentions to ship him out of Sacramento and many believe the relationship can't be mended.
Cousins, obviously aware of the rumors, took to Twitter, letting his feelings be known.
???
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) June 23, 2015
Karl's hiring was originally met with reports that Cousins' camp was unhappy with the decision and that the All-Star big man wasn't consulted during the coaching search. This following the Kings' firing of Mike Malone after he appeared to be the first head coach to truly get through to Boogie in his NBA career.
Cousins, 24, averaged 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.5 steals in a career year that saw him earn an All-NBA Second Team selection. His improved two-way play helped the Kings get off to a surprising 9-5 start, but the team went into a tailspin while Cousins was sidelined with meningitis, eventually leading to Malone's unceremonious firing. Cousins' defensive effort seemed to wane as another lost season in Sacramento dragged on.
Wojnarowski also includes that the team would look to deal forward Rudy Gay if they can find a team interested. Gay signed a three-year, $40-million extension that kicks in next season.
