The Boston Celtics have an extremely young team with a lot of talent that surprised people last year by making the playoffs. This season Boston came in with higher expectations due to an improved roster but they have gotten off to an uninspiring start and it has fans of the team wondering whether they need a star player to really bring this team to the next level. With all of the turmoil surrounding the Sacramento Kings there has been some talk of the Celtics making a play for DeMarcus Cousins, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN.
The Celtics are an extremely deep team with a lot of good players but the problem is that they don't have that one star player that you can rely on to carry the team as the go-to-guy. The frontcourt specifically is very deep and they brought in Amir Johnson and David Lee this offseason to bring it even more punch but they haven't been great and an upgrade should definitely be considered.
A major reason why a Cousins trade makes sense for the Celtics, other than the obvious need for a star, is that the Celtics have a ton of assets that they can potentially give up for him. The Celtics have the potential to have four first round picks in this upcoming draft, and that seems likely, and some young players that they can also possibly give up for Cousins. The only drawback in a potential deal is the fact that Cousins is considered a tough guy to coach and has not gotten along with his current head coach George Karl. General manager Danny Ainge says they are monitoring the situation and they understand what character flaws Cousins may have.
"Listen, we consider all talented players, but what is the price? Who are the players that we have around to support? All of that is discussed when we have trade talks. I think everybody knows who you are talking about. The bottom line is I can't talk about any players, but I can assure you that we're familiar with every player in the league and every player's background and their character. We consider it all," said Ainge.
Cousins is still just 25 years old and he is already one of the most dominant big men in the NBA so there is a lot of upside to trading for him. Cousins is also signed through 2018 so the Celtics wouldn't have to worry about losing him in free agency anytime soon. That contract situation might also drive up the price of what the Kings ask for him though, so that combined with Cousins questionable character does give some reason for pause.
It is unknown whether the Kings would even consider trading Cousins but if they did Boston should be first in line. The Celtics are loaded with assets and at some point they need to use them to get a star player. This would seem to be the perfect time as Cousins is young and supremely talented and even if the Celtics did give up a lot for him they would still have plenty left to support the star forward. There is an interesting argument on both sides here for the Celtics but this is something definitely worth considering as they have a need and the resources to fill that need, it is just a matter of whether Cousins is the right guy.
