Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has reportedly told coach George Karl that star center DeMarcus Cousins will not be traded this summer.
The Los Angeles Lakers had been linked with a move for the Kings star, with Karl given power to make Draft picks and consider trades after being appointed coach last season.
However, he has been met with resistance by the front office over one player in particular, and that is Cousins who the organisation regard as an important part of their future and an untradeable asset.
Karl’s comments over the past few months have suggested that he is open to trading Cousins, and it has been reported that the pair have not spoken in months with comments in the media adding fuel to the fire that there has been a real breakdown between them.
“I have no idea where that’s coming from,” Ranadive told USA Today.
“But if you like, you should talk to [Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations] Vlade [Divac], because I know Vlade feels exactly the same way. And I’m deferring to Vlade on everything. We have no interest in moving him. From my perspective, it’s really simple: We feel that he’s a one-of-a-kind player, and we have a group of players right now and we’re going to build on it.”
Divac told the Sacramento Bee earlier this week that the All-Star would not be traded, but revealed that the franchise is considering their options with other players in a smaller trade deal.
However, that hasn’t done much to silence speculation that the Lakers are ready to make a move for the 24-year-old, although aside from their number two overall pick in the Draft, they don’t have sufficient assets to make a deal happen.
In addition, the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets have also reportedly been monitoring the situation, but ultimately it would appear that the front office will have final say on Cousins’ future at the franchise and that results in him staying in Sacramento even though issues may have emerged with Karl.
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