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03/29/2024 07:51:55 am

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NBA Trade Rumors: Miami Heat Wants DeMarcus Cousins? Could Swap Hassan Whiteside for Chance at Franchise Big Man

DeMarcus Cousins (L) and Hassan Whiteside

(Photo : Getty Images) NBA Trade Rumors: A recent trade rumor involving a swap between Sacramento Kings' DeMarcus Cousins (L) and Miami Heat's Hassan Whiteside is abuzz at the moment.

With the Sacramento Kings debacle still ongoing, rumors are out that Pat Riley and the Miami Heat are interested in trading for its franchise big man, DeMarcus Cousins, although many NBA analysts are not sure what assets would the Florida squad give up for the enigmatic center.

After the "cursing" incident between Cousins and head coach George Karl almost two weeks ago, as reported by The Big Lead, speculations that either Karl will be fired or Cousins traded have emerged in different reports online.

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Currently, things are still not looking positive in Sacramento with the Kings still in the bottom three of the Western Conference with a 5-9 record.

Thus, if things don't go north as soon as possible, then there is a chance that team owner Vivek Ranadivé and general manager Vlade Divac might eventually pull the plug on either of the two or perhaps even both.

Recently, in response to a fan's question, Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman said that Heat president Riley should be looking at the current situation in Sacramento and must be contemplating on the chance to snag 25-year-old All-Star center.

And the primary trade chip he mentioned for Cousins? Third-year center Hassan Whiteside.

Winderman also said that Luol Deng and a "filler" could just about push the trade through as Miami also looks to avoid potential difficulties in next year's free agency period.

The report noted that "with a trade for Cousins, who already is under contract going forward, cap space wouldn't be a consideration and it could be easier to make the rest of their moves work, from Dwayne Wade to Tyler Johnson to even utilizing various exceptions, including their trade exceptions."

In other words, it would be "easier" and beneficial for the Heat to move forward with Cousins contract locked in for a couple more years than to risk losing Whiteside, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July 2016.

To sum it all up, however, Ranadivé is a well-recognized Cousins fanatic and it seems that no team could offer him enough to allow the former Kentucky standout to leave his team anytime in the near future.

It would take a whole lot of negotiating between him and Riley before such a deal would become possible.

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