lipoli390 wrote:The Kings have three players on their roster who could match salaries in a deal for Ricky -- Cousins, Rudy Gay and Afflalo. Thibs was not about to trade his only proven starting caliber PG for Cousins or Gay. Cousins is not a Thibs kind of guy to say the least and Rudy would be redudant with Wiggins here. I don't think Afflalo is eligible to be traded yet having just been signed as a FA. Just some evidence of how silly this report was.
To be fair... whether or not Cousins is a "Thibs kind of guy"... if you can get Cousins for Rubio, you do it instantly and don't think twice about it. 30 teams in the NBA would do that trade instantly.
You can trade Cousins to another team for somebody you actually like as the worst case scenario. He has a lot more trade value than Rubio.
Abe -- I might do Ricky for Cousins, but I don't think Thibs would. The reason I might do the deal is because of the overall talent upgrade from Ricky to Cousins. The reason I might not is because of fit. First, Cousins is a ball hog I would seem to be a poor fit for a team like ours with at least three scorers (KAT, Wiggins and Zach) who need lots of touches. Second, ball movement is a key to success in the NBA and Cousins stifles ball movement. Third, we'd be left with no starting caliber PG unless you believe Dunn will fill that bill as a rookie when he didn't even dominate in college as a senior. Fourth, Cousins seems to have a chemistry killer gene. If the Kings were really willing to part with Cousins for Ricky, that in and of itself is at least a yellow flag or the Wolves to proceed with caution and perhaps say no. If the Kings really made that offer, then apparently Thibs did say no.
lipoli390 wrote:Abe -- I might do Ricky for Cousins, but I don't think Thibs would. The reason I might do the deal is because of the overall talent upgrade from Ricky to Cousins. The reason I might not is because of fit. First, Cousins is a ball hog I would seem to be a poor fit for a team like ours with at least three scorers (KAT, Wiggins and Zach) who need lots of touches. Second, ball movement is a key to success in the NBA and Cousins stifles ball movement. Third, we'd be left with no starting caliber PG unless you believe Dunn will fill that bill as a rookie when he didn't even dominate in college as a senior. Fourth, Cousins seems to have a chemistry killer gene. If the Kings were really willing to part with Cousins for Ricky, that in and of itself is at least a yellow flag or the Wolves to proceed with caution and perhaps say no. If the Kings really made that offer, then apparently Thibs did say no.
I think my point was missed.
Value wise... Cousins has a lot more of it than Rubio with all the other NBA teams. Grab him and trade him again for somebody else of equal value (more value than Ricky and a better fit than Cousins).
Abe -- I think you said we could turn around and trade Cousins "as a worst case scenario." So I didn't think that was your main point. But there's a waiting period before you can swap someone you've just traded. Also, there's no guarantee we'd find another team willing to give us significantly better talent than Rubio who fits our team at least as well as Rubio in exchange for Cousins and all his baggage. Note that the Kings have been trying to trade Cousins for two years and haven't gotten any offers they consider acceptable. So if the point is to swap Rubio for someone better with Cousins going elsewhere, then it should be part of a simultaneous multi-team deal. Interesting idea. But until we know what we have in Dunn, I would think any such deal would have to be for a PG. Who are some better PGs than Ricky we could legitimately get in a 3-way with the Kings involving Cousins? To me, that's the question if there is anything to the Kings really wanting Rubio and the Wolves wanting to deal Ricky.
lipoli390 wrote:Abe -- I think you said we could turn around and trade Cousins "as a worst case scenario." So I didn't think that was your main point. But there's a waiting period before you can swap someone you've just traded. Also, there's no guarantee we'd find another team willing to give us significantly better talent than Rubio who fits our team at least as well as Rubio in exchange for Cousins and all his baggage. Note that the Kings have been trying to trade Cousins for two years and haven't gotten any offers they consider acceptable. So if the point is to swap Rubio for someone better with Cousins going elsewhere, then it should be part of a simultaneous multi-team deal. Interesting idea. But until we know what we have in Dunn, I would think any such deal would have to be for a PG. Who are some better PGs than Ricky we could legitimately get in a 3-way with the Kings involving Cousins? To me, that's the question if there is anything to the Kings really wanting Rubio and the Wolves wanting to deal Ricky.
Yes. Good point about the waiting period... is it 60 days or something like that?
We disagree about Rubio's value. Obviously. Even with his baggage, I think Cousins is much more valued around the league and could land more than an average, or slightly above average, starting PG in return. Both players are polarizing... just for very different reasons.
But Cousins' much higher ceiling is what separates the two.
lipoli390 wrote:Abe -- I think you said we could turn around and trade Cousins "as a worst case scenario." So I didn't think that was your main point. But there's a waiting period before you can swap someone you've just traded. Also, there's no guarantee we'd find another team willing to give us significantly better talent than Rubio who fits our team at least as well as Rubio in exchange for Cousins and all his baggage. Note that the Kings have been trying to trade Cousins for two years and haven't gotten any offers they consider acceptable. So if the point is to swap Rubio for someone better with Cousins going elsewhere, then it should be part of a simultaneous multi-team deal. Interesting idea. But until we know what we have in Dunn, I would think any such deal would have to be for a PG. Who are some better PGs than Ricky we could legitimately get in a 3-way with the Kings involving Cousins? To me, that's the question if there is anything to the Kings really wanting Rubio and the Wolves wanting to deal Ricky.
Yes. Good point about the waiting period... is it 60 days or something like that?
We disagree about Rubio's value. Obviously. Even with his baggage, I think Cousins is much more valued around the league and could land more than an average, or slightly above average, starting PG in return. Both players are polarizing... just for very different reasons.
But Cousins' much higher ceiling is what separates the two.
Cousins is the only significant talent going forward the kings have. If they were open to trading him they HAVE TO ask for a significant return and either they never were offered that kind of return or they never really were looking to deal him. There is no way some team like the Celtics lakers etc who want a star level player wouldn't offer up a pretty nice package for him. There is no way the Kings are moving Cousins for Rubio whether you would do the deal or not.
It's interesting to hear that Thibs like Rubio. It's not all that surprising but the perception out there is that he doesn't. It's almost amusing.
lipoli390 wrote:Abe -- I think you said we could turn around and trade Cousins "as a worst case scenario." So I didn't think that was your main point. But there's a waiting period before you can swap someone you've just traded. Also, there's no guarantee we'd find another team willing to give us significantly better talent than Rubio who fits our team at least as well as Rubio in exchange for Cousins and all his baggage. Note that the Kings have been trying to trade Cousins for two years and haven't gotten any offers they consider acceptable. So if the point is to swap Rubio for someone better with Cousins going elsewhere, then it should be part of a simultaneous multi-team deal. Interesting idea. But until we know what we have in Dunn, I would think any such deal would have to be for a PG. Who are some better PGs than Ricky we could legitimately get in a 3-way with the Kings involving Cousins? To me, that's the question if there is anything to the Kings really wanting Rubio and the Wolves wanting to deal Ricky.
Yes. Good point about the waiting period... is it 60 days or something like that?
We disagree about Rubio's value. Obviously. Even with his baggage, I think Cousins is much more valued around the league and could land more than an average, or slightly above average, starting PG in return. Both players are polarizing... just for very different reasons.
But Cousins' much higher ceiling is what separates the two.
Cousins is the only significant talent going forward the kings have. If they were open to trading him they HAVE TO ask for a significant return and either they never were offered that kind of return or they never really were looking to deal him. There is no way some team like the Celtics lakers etc who want a star level player wouldn't offer up a pretty nice package for him. There is no way the Kings are moving Cousins for Rubio whether you would do the deal or not.
It's interesting to hear that Thibs like Rubio. It's not all that surprising but the perception out there is that he doesn't. It's almost amusing.
Heck, I think even Pork likes Rubio. It's hard not to like the kid.
The question is whether the Wolves can win (big) with him. I hope we get the chance to find out. I'm looking forward to a fun, interesting season for the Wolves. And I hope Thibs is patient to see exactly what's there before any big moves.
Here is a poorly written purely speculative article. I like how the author refers to Rubio looking to play in a bigger market, yet Cleveland is a smaller market. The author also refers to Zach LaVine as a point guard, and I hope no one ever does that again
Here is a poorly written purely speculative article. I like how the author refers to Rubio looking to play in a bigger market, yet Cleveland is a smaller market. The author also refers to Zach LaVine as a point guard, and I hope no one ever does that again
On the one hand I would say that anybody can start their own fan website but that won't make them a journalist. On the other hand much of what is written on established sports media sites isn't any better. So many people writing about sports these days are just regurgitating the inaccuracies they've read elsewhere. There is more good, useful information flowing on a forum like this than exists in most of sports media!
