Kings owner says there's 'zero interest' in trading DeMarcus Cousins

Sam Amick | USA TODAY Sports

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive reiterated his well-known stance regarding big man DeMarcus Cousins on Monday, telling USA TODAY Sports that his 24-year-old big man won't be traded anytime soon.

"We have zero interest in moving Cousins, so I don't know where that's coming from," Ranadive said when asked about an ESPN.com report in which a Kings-Los Angeles Lakers-Orlando Magic trade scenario was discussed. "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."

While Divac could not be reached for comment, he told The Sacramento Bee this week that a Cousins trade "is not happening, but I would love to do something, a smaller move, before the draft."

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While the deal that would send Cousins to the Lakers appears unlikely, the noise surrounding Cousins and his Kings situation isn't about to die down anytime soon. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Cousins' camp is clearly in favor of him heading south to the Kings' old Pacific Division rival. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the situation. Truth be told, the tone of this tale shouldn't surprise anyone who has been watching this unfold these past four months.

When the Kings first considered hiring George Karl as their coach back in February, the pushback from Cousins' camp — namely Dan Fegan and Jarrin Akana of Relativity Sports — came almost immediately. And while it appeared that Cousins and Karl found a way to work together down the stretch of the regular season after he was hired, Karl's mid-April comments that, in essence, everyone is trade-able seemed to confirm all the concerns coming from Cousins' side at the start of their pairing.

It was, in the eyes of some, the beginning of their end.

Yet a month later, Divac — the former Kings and Lakers player who was hired in early March to head the basketball operations department — said in an interview with Sirius XM Radio that Karl "might have overstepped his bounds" and even called Cousins "untrade-able." In that regard, nothing has changed.

But with the draft nearing on Thursday and the list of Cousins suitors likely long, it remains to be seen how this ends. Cousins, who made his first All-Star team last season after averaging 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists, has three seasons and a combined $47.2 million left on his deal.

Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.