Why Didn’t the Atlanta Hawks Try to Trade For DeMarcus Cousins?

The Trade

The three players that the Kings received in return are of little significance. The headliner of the deal would have to be considered rookie guard, Buddy Hield, who is averaging 8.6 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting. Hield was selected 6th overall in last summer’s draft, after spending three years at Oklahoma. Although he may have much potential, he is already 23 years old and has been dreadful this season. Langston Galloway, and Tyreke Evans playing on the final year of his contract, are only fillers for the trade.

DeMarcus Cousins is among the top 10 players in all of the league, and is likely the most skilled big man currently in the game. He boasts a sterling line of statistics that consist of 27.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. He does cause his fair share of trouble with referees on a nightly basis (he already has occurred 17 technical fouls this season}, but he has the level of talent that could be the foundation of a super-team.

If trading Cousins for pieces of very little value in comparison wasn’t bad enough, the Kings also included small forward, Omri Casspi as well.  While Casspi may not be a household name, he is however a very good player in his own right. With so much attention being paid to Cousins in regards to the trade, it would be easy for Casspi to get overshadowed. He may even be better than all the players that his former team received in the deal, as he has averaged 5.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 18 minutes per game.

The 5th overall pick from Kentucky of the 2010 draft, will now join fellow former Wildcat Anthony Davis to form potentially one of the most lethal front-courts of all time. Davis has struggled to make New Orleans a winning team in the Western Conference, his statistical production is no less impressive than Cousins’ though, with averages of 27.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.