Some interesting reports coming out this evening. First we have Yahoo! Sports Marc Spears (a former Nuggets beat reporter for the Denver Post) tweeting that the Nuggets have made Danilo Gallinari available in trades, according to a single source.
A single source? Yes, a single source. One person.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Nuggets have made injury plagued but offensively talented forward Danilo Gallinari available for trade, a source told Yahoo Sports.</p>— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo/status/613901282445623296">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And within the next half hour Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski has a report that the Kings and Lakers are talking about a possible deal for DeMarcus Cousins. Of note though, Woj says the Nuggets are trying to get in the conversation in a three way trade that still sends Cousins to the Lakers, and possibly the 2nd overall pick heading to Denver via the Lakers, with the Nuggets sending a package of players to the Kings, including Ty Lawson.
You can read the full report by clicking here, and here is a tidbit from the article:
Kings vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac has pursued a possible deal that would include a bevvy of assets, including the Lakers’ No. 2 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, rookies Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson and other draft assets, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Sacramento also would want to unload the remainder of forward Carl Landry‘s two years, $13.5 million contract, league sources said.
Minimally, the Lakers have no intention of including Randle in a deal for Cousins, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Randle, a power forward, was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft and missed most of his rookie season after leg surgery. The Lakers are reluctant to part with Clarkson too, sources said.
The Lakers are eager to make a deal for Cousins before Thursday night’s draft, but if no agreement is in place, Los Angeles will continue to decide between Duke center Jahlil Okafor and Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell, sources said.
Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive has been unwilling to discuss a deal to send Cousins to Denver, where Sacramento’s former coach, Michael Malone, and former general manager, Pete D’Alessandro, have been recently hired, sources said. Denver has had interest in a three-way deal that would land Cousins with the Lakers and possibly deliver the Kings several players – including point guard Ty Lawson – who Karl has expressed a desire to be reunited with in Sacramento, sources said.
Now, let's put together some pieces.
Hearing Woj mention the Nuggets wanting in on the 2nd pick (where Tim Connelly could ensure they get Ohio State Star D'Angelo Russell) makes me realize where the Spears tweet came from. It's possible that someone with the Kings or Lakers may have leaked something to Oakland based Spears that spurred the Gallo tweet, as someone in Sacramento or Los Angeles may want Gallo, and they may want to try to ruffle Denver's feathers.
It's always interesting when these rumors are coming from Woj. More than likley the Kings and Lakers cut the Nuggets out of the picture, but if George Karl gets his way and ships Cousins out of town, then maybe it's possible that Karl would go the extra step to get the Kings roster where he wants it, one that he thinks can compete with Lawson aboard. That may have been the craziest sentence I've ever written. Somebody remind me to burn this once the draft is over and none of this crud happens.
It's likely that the Kings and Lakers just make a deal, or that the Kings stand pat.
Crazy times…stay tuned (or maybe just hide under some blankets until Brooklyn's NBA draft coverage begins at 5:00 pm MT tomorrow!)
