Cleveland Cavaliers are still trying to find a perfect piece for the roster that would help them beat the Golden State Warriors next season. The Cavaliers are interested in Paul George and it seems they are giving their best to acquire him this offseason. However, as good as George is, Cleveland might be better off trading for DeMarcus Cousins.
Paul George and LeBron James are both small forwards while Cousins is a center. If the potential trade for George did not include Kevin Love, then Love would be forced to be a center while either George or LeBron play at the four.
However, by trading for DeMarcus Cousins, the Cleveland Cavaliers would simply upgrade their center and they'd get a reliable big man who is a versatile scorer, decent defender and can also rebound very well.
DeMarcus Cousins would be a great addition to Cleveland
One of the biggest issues the Cavaliers had last season was rebounding. This was especially bad during the NBA Finals when Tristan Thompson averaged only 5.8 rebounds per game. Because of his awful performance on the biggest stage, Thompson should be traded for another player, and there's no one better than Cousins.
Thompson will be paid $16.4 million next year and he has three more years left on his contract. On the other side, Cousins is set to be paid almost $18.1 million next season and it will be a final year of his contract.
Trading for Cousins would mean that the Cleveland Cavaliers have only one year to win a championship as they may not be able to afford him when his contract expires. Taking salary cap increase into account, the center could get a contract that pays him at least $25 million per year.
While Thompson-for-Cousins trade would make much sense for the New Orleans Pelicans, the Cavaliers could spice it up by adding another player, such as Iman Shumpert or Channing Frye.
Cousins' problems
While the lineup with DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Love, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving sounds amazing, the Cavaliers would eventually have to deal with numerous problems Cousins brings with himself. Cousins is quite immature and he has issues controlling his anger and emotions on the floor, which is something that could potentially ruin team chemistry.
Would DeMarcus Cousins be better in Cleveland and would he improve while playing with LeBron James? It's hard to answer this question and trading for Cousins would be a double-edged sword as it could bring them a championship next year, but also completely ruin their team.
