Sacramento Kings trade rumors: Kings trading Cousins may become a reality

DeMarcus Cousins has played for the Sacramento Kings his entire career, but his relationship with the ball club has not been smooth.

He has been involved in countless trade talks and has expressed unhappiness with the franchise for not building the team around him to become playoff contenders.

Despite this, Cousins continues to dominate for the Kings and is easily one of the best players in the game today. Unfortunately, his poor relationship with the Kings has everyone thinking that this year may be time for Cousins to leave the team for good.

In the early stages of the season, the Kings have struggled just like they did in the previous campaigns. They currently hold a 4-7 record and place fourth in the ultra-tough Pacific Division and are only a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the worst record in the cluster.

Looking at Cousins' numbers this year, the blame certainly does not fall on him as he has been excellent. He is averaging 26.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Comparing this to his career numbers of 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds, many should believe that the Kings must be improving around him.

Unfortunately, this is not the case as the Kings have failed to remain relevant in the league.

Looking at Cousins' contract, he has a deal with the team until the end of the 2017-18 season. This year, he is set to earn around $16.9 million and it will climb to $18 million the following year.

If he does not feel secured with the Kings, and he feels the direction they are going in is not beneficial for his career, then trading him now would be the best move because the Kings will get a lot for a player like him. Cousins can immediately move to a new team that can probably build around him, or make him the missing piece needed for a championship.