There have been plenty of rumors concerning the Cleveland Cavaliers attempts to convince LeBron James to stick with the team or at least to fill in the firepower to make one last NBA title run before LeBron leaves in 2018. A lot of the rumors surrounded DeMarcus Cousins and now the big man has made some noise of his own that is fueling those speculations. In a recent Instagram post showing the current Cavs roster, the two top names that liked it was LeBron James and DeMarcus Cousins.
It looks like DeMarcus Cousins likes what he sees the Cleveland Cavaliers are doing in this upcoming NBA season.
The 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have made it to the last three NBA Finals, all since LeBron James returned to Cleveland. In all, LeBron has been to seven straight NBA Finals but that was slightly overshadowed by the fact that the Golden State Warriors beat them in two of the last three. However, the 2017-18 Cavaliers lineup seems even stronger than the one that made it to the NBA Finals last season.
Kyrie Irving, who is still considered one of the top players in the NBA, wanted out and demanded a trade so he could lead his own team outside of the shadow of LeBron James. The Boston Celtics bit on the trade and sent their own superstar Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs for Kyrie. The Cavaliers were able to pull of the trade while keeping Kevin Love and still received Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and two first-round draft picks as well.
Sure, Isaiah Thomas won’t be able to play until later in the season due to a hip injury but he could be back just in time for the playoff run and everyone knows that LeBron James doesn’t care about the regular season as long as the Cavs are locked and loaded for the postseason. However, one of the most interesting parts of the trade is the draft picks.
First is a 2018 first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets and the second is a second-round pick in 2020 from the Celtics, that used to belong to Miami.
Boogie sittin at bar with his full-time, but still out here writing his # on a napkin and sending it with a drink to the dime in the corner👀 pic.twitter.com/UQjH34y7nM
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) September 22, 2017
The 2018 first-round draft pick
The fact that DeMarcus Cousins likes what he is seeing in that Cleveland Cavaliers Instagram photo does not mean he is headed to Cleveland.
The New Orleans Pelicans still hope that Cousins and Anthony Davis will lead them back to playoff contention in the Western Conference. However, if the two superstars don’t do so, there have been rumors that New Orleans could move both Davis and Cousins.
What better move could the Pelicans make than to trade DeMarcus Cousins to the Cleveland Cavaliers for that Brooklyn Nets first-round draft pick? It is clear that the Nets are rebuilding their franchise and few analysists expect them to be very good in 2017-18. This means that the first-round pick that the Cavs are holding could be worth a Top 5 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. That could go a long way in helping the Pelicans start the rebuilding process while giving LeBron James a player that can help him win another NBA title.
