Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is known as a head case around the league. He’s in just his third NBA season and things like getting suspended by his own team are the kind of things that happen to him.

This was the work on Cousins even before he was drafted. He was going to need a good organization and league to reach his full potential in this league. The Kings have not been that for him thus far.

As the trade rumors are heating up, Cousins’ name is very much out there. The Kings said they aren’t planning to trade him but there are a lot of teams out there who are interested and making inquiries about him.

One team that should consider trading for Cousins is the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC is a perfect place for someone like Cousins to get his act together, playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Trading for Cousins wouldn’t be easy for the Thunder. They’d surely have to include Serge Ibaka, who they just signed to a 4-year extension this season, in a deal. But the potential of a Big 3 of Durant, Westbrook and Cousins would be so perfect.

Cousins has the talent to be one of the best big men in the league right now, no one denies that. He has a PER of 21.1 this season and is averaging 18.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game

When you watch him play, he jumps off the screen. He has incredible size and long arms and finesse for his position. In today’s NBA, there is really no one that can match him.

So if you were able to take Cousins, get him in shape and have him reach his potential, he could become one of the most dominant players in the league. Oklahoma City is a place where he could do that.

The biggest thing critics of the Thunder say is that they don’t score from the post enough. Durant and Westbrook are trying to do it more but they are still a perimeter based team. Ibaka is coming around as a solid third scoring option but he rarely scores from the post too.

Cousins would immediately fix this issue for the Thunder. The dynamic between Durant, Westbrook and Cousins could be pretty perfect.

At this moment, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA and aren’t looking to make any wholesale changes to their roster. Trading for Cousins would be doing that.

Buying low on a player is always a good decision in this league and teams may have a chance to do this on Cousins this year. The Thunder should consider it.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant scored 32 points to go with nine rebounds and did not play in the fourth quarter as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings 118-110 Tuesday night.

Durant came into the game leading Kobe Bryant in the scoring department by 0.4 points per game. Durant is now averaging 27.97 points per game on the season while Bryant is at 27.86. Both players have one game left to play in this season.

The Thunder trailed at halftime and trailed by four entering the fourth quarter. Without their starters they came back led by Daequan Cook who scored a season-high 19 points in the game and made four three-pointers.

The defensive intensity was nonexistent in this one with the Thunder allowing 58 percent field goal shooting by the Kings in the first half and over 52 percent for the game.

The difference for Oklahoma City was getting to the line as they made 33-of-36 free throws in the game with Durant leading the way going 15-for-16.

Russell Westbrook only played 27 minutes and again didn’t have his best shooting night making 4-of-13 from the field and scoring 13 points. He did however add six assists and eight rebounds.

The Kings were a mess all night despite being in the game throughout. They got 32 points from DeMarcus Cousins who did not however provide the same results on the defensive end of the floor.

The Thunder will close out the regular season at home tomorrow night against the Denver Nuggets.

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder with 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to beat the Sacramento Kings 103-92 Friday night.

James Harden would also put together a nice game for the second time in a row with 20 points off the bench to go with three assists and three steals.

The Thunder made it look easy tonight shooting 53.3 percent from the field while Sacramento was at 40.9 percent. The Kings kept it close in the first half thanks to 15 offensive rebounds in the first two quarters.

Russell Westbrook continues to not be putting up huge numbers with only 18 points tonight on 8-of-15 shooting. This game did not require maximum effort from the Thunder however so Westbrook’s presence was unnecessary.

Serge Ibaka blocked eight shots tonight and had 10 last week when the Thunder played Sacramento. With one more game against the Kings this season Ibaka will look to add to his league-leading block total.

DeMarcus Cousins was a victim of Ibaka often tonight and finished just 8-of-21 from the field for 18 points.

The Kings appear to not have any fight left in them. That is fortunate for the Thunder who still remain a half game back of San Antonio for the top spot in the West after the Spurs beat the Lakers tonight.

The Thunder (46-17) will play in Los Angeles against the Lakers (40-24) in what will be the final game of a five-game road trip Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder (1-game winning streak)
107.2 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.7 Defensive Efficiency (9th)
95.7 Pace (6th)
56.7 True Shooting % (1st)
51.6 Rebound Rate (3rd)

Sacramento Kings (1-game losing streak)
100.3 Offensive Efficiency (22nd)
107.1 Defensive Efficiency (29th)
97.3 Pace (1st)
50.8 True Shooting % (27th)
48.8 Rebound Rate (24th)

The Thunder have put themselves into a position where they need to win just about every game here on out to capture the one-seed in the Western Conference. They have four games left and two are against the Kings.

The Thunder beat Sacramento last week 115-89 pretty easily. Kevin Durant scored 29 points in that game and Russell Westbrook 22. The starters weren’t needed in the fourth quarter.

Turnovers were a problem for the Thunder the first time they played the Kings this season but they did a good job last game with only 14.

The Kings are pretty much in tank mode the rest of this season but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have a huge night from DeMarcus Cousins or Tyreke Evans and make this one close.

James Harden broke out of his semi-slump in the Thunder’s last game against Phoenix as he scored a career-high 40 points on just 17 shots. The Thunder are going to need Harden playing at a high level with the playoffs right around the corner.

Westbrook has still been struggling though shooting 10-for-32 in his last two games but he has a good chance tonight to get back on track as he is shooting nearly 57 percent against the Kings this season.

The other story line would be Durant and his chase of LeBron James for the MVP award. Durant has put up big numbers against the Kings in the past and a 40- or 50-point game tonight would give Durant a much needed boost in the MVP race.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook stole the show tonight with this thunderous alley-oop finish in the second quarter on lob pass from Kevin Durant in transition.

The dunk electrified the crowd and set the tone for the rest of the night as Oklahoma City cruised to a 115-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Durant led the team with 29 points and nine rebounds and needed to play just 30 minutes. Durant also turned the ball over seven times.

Westbrook scored 22 points to go with five assists and six rebounds. The two combined to shoot over 50 percent from the floor and needed to as the Thunder were without James Harden for the night.

The Thunder turned the ball over 23 times and gave up 17 offensive rebounds when they played the Kings two months ago. Tonight, Oklahoma City committed just 14 turnovers and gave up eight offensive rebounds while crashing the glass themselves with 16 offensive boards.

Kendrick Perkins led that charge with a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 rebounds – five offensive.

DeMarcus Cousins tried to get established early but Serge Ibaka wouldn’t let him as he blocked seven shots on the night. Cousins scored just nine points and was 3-for-14 from the field.

Derek Fisher and Daequan Cook shot well in Harden’s absence combining for 27 points. Cook hit three threes and had 13 points while Fisher scored 14, though Jimmer Fredette was covering him most of the time.

The Thunder (43-16) play tomorrow night in Minnesota (25-35) in what will be the first of five in a row on the road for them. Kevin Love suffered a concussion against the Denver Nuggets and likely won’t play tomorrow night or at all the rest of the season.

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (1-game losing streak)
107.3 Offensive Efficiency (1st)
99.7 Defensive Efficiency (9th)
95.5 Pace (6th)
57.0 True Shooting % (1st)
51.4 Rebound Rate (4th)

Kings (6-game losing streak)
100.3 Offensive Efficiency (22nd)
106.4 Defensive Efficiency (28th)
97.4 Pace (1st)
50.8 True Shooting % (27th)
49.0 Rebound Rate (23rd)

With the race for the number-one seed in the West tightening, it should put a smile on Thunder fans that they get to play the Sacramento Kings three more times this season.

Tonight, Oklahoma City will play the Kings for the second time this season, the Thunder lost in the first meeting 106-101 as Sacramento rallied back in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 60 points in that game but the Thunder also turned the ball over 23 times and gave up 17 offensive rebounds to the Kings.

The Kings are going through a tough stretch right now eliminated from the playoffs and having lost their last six.

DeMarcus Cousins who had a nine-game stretch not too long ago averaging over 26 points per game has only averaged 12.8 points per game over his last five.

The Thunder have lost four of their last seven games with all of the losses coming at the hands of playoff teams – Memphis, Miami, Indiana and L.A. Clippers.

Oklahoma City is only a half game up of the San Antonio Spurs for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Thunder have a slightly easier schedule remaining than San Antonio.

Tonight is the last home game for awhile for Oklahoma City who will go on a five-game road trip beginning tomorrow night.

A win tonight is important and shouldn’t be too tough. Limiting turnovers and keeping the Kings off the glass will no doubt be the emphasis.

Durant and Westbrook combined to shoot 10-of-35 last game against the Clippers. It would be nice to see both get back their shooting rhythm tonight against a Kings team that probably won’t put up too much of a fight.

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

There was something about this game that made it seem like it was always about the Kings. It would be the only nationally televised game for Sacramento this season and they took advantage of it, beating the team with the NBA’s best record 106-101.

Even when the Thunder were leading in the second half, the night was just always about Sacramento. Kings legend Chris Webber was announcing the game for TNT and received a standing ovation from the crowd at one point. The play-by-play talk centered mostly around how the Kings are trying to become the next Oklahoma City.

The Thunder still shot themselves in the foot dropping this one. They turned the ball over 23 times and gave up 17 offensive rebounds.

It was a total team effort by the least looking “team” in the NBA. Tyreke Evans led the way with 22 points while DeMarcus Cousins added 19 points and nine rebounds (four offensive).

The Thunder got good games from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook but only two points from players on their bench not named James Harden.

Westbrook led the team with 33 points (16 in the third) but also had seven turnovers. Durant scored 27 and Harden added 17 (14 in the first half).
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Soobum IM-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (2-game winning streak)
105.6 Offensive Efficiency (3rd)
99.9 Defensive Efficiency (15th)
95.8 Pace (5th)

Kings (1-game losing streak)
95.5 Offensive Efficiency (26th)
104.8 Defensive Efficiency (27th)
95.7 Pace (7th)

This will be the first meeting of four between the Thunder and Kings this season. The Kings are a mess this season while the Thunder have the best record in the league. The Thunder have had to go down to the wire in their last two games on the road at Portland and at Golden State. The Thunder pulled out the victory each time with some good fortune. This game will be on national television on TNT tonight but there’s really no reason for the Kings to compete with Oklahoma City. The Thunder should be able to win this one easily and not have to play their stars too many minutes so that they can be rested for Utah Friday night.
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