Is DeMarcus Cousins a viable trade target?

What’s the likelihood of the New Orleans Pelicans trading DeMarcus Cousins for Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love? Does Cousins give the Cavs a better chance at defeating the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals?

After Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals was over, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears floated the idea of the Cleveland Cavaliers trading Kevin Love for New Orleans Pelicans big man DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins, who the Cavs attempted to acquire before being rebuffed by the Sacramento Kings, is set to be a free agent after the season is over.

Last year, Cousins averaged 27.0 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from three-point range.

For comparison, Love averaged 19.0 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from three-point range.

While Love is a catch-and-shoot specialist, he can take opponents off-the-dribble, shoot from the midrange, and make amazing passes in both the fullcourt and halfcourt settings. He’s focused a lot on conditioning and team defense since coming to Cleveland and because he’s exponentially improved his mobility he’s been able to have a bigger impact on that end of the floor.

Offensively, Cousins can do everything Love can do but better excluding shoot from three-point range. Based on his three-point percentage from last season, Cousins can do it. Love, however, has been a sniper from behind-the-line for a long time.

From an athletic standpoint, Cousins is probably more mobile and nimble than Love is, even while Love is at his physical peak. With a similar commitment to improving his physical conditioning, which Cousins would need to thrive in the Cavs up-and-down attack, Cousins could possess guard-like quickness at the center position.

Defensively, Cousins needs to focus on improving his technique on post-ups and team defense. There’s no reason he can’t be a menace on that end, especially with the defensive-minded coaches in Cleveland.

There’s probably nobody that will argue that Love is a better basketball player. than Cousins. What’s always made Cousins available is his emotional volatility on-the-court and immaturity off of it.

However, that was also the case with Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith. The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the few organizations who, regardless of any misgivings about Cousins’ personality, would feel as if they have an environment Cousins can thrive in.

What’s would bring DeMarcus Cousins to the Cleveland Cavaliers?

Last year, the New Orleans Pelicans had a 2-7 record against winning teams when Cousins shared the court with Anthony Davis. They lost six of their first seven games with Cousins in the lineup.

However, Cousins and the Pelicans seem excited about having two “unicorn” big men who can handle the ball, pass, shoot from outside and post-up efficiently and effectively. When the trade was first announced, it seemed as if the NBA would get to witness the second coming of David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Additionally, with the trouble the Warriors had with skilled big men throughout the season, including both Cousins and Davis, having two players with just as much versatility as they have length is a welcome sight for a team looking to make noise in the Western Conference playoffs.

Cousins, who enjoys playing with Davis and feels like he fits right in, according to NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan.

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New Orleans has a good chance of re-signing Cousins unless the Pelicans take a step back in the summer, choosing to rebuild instead of return at full strength and with some upgrades along the roster.

If Jrue Holiday doesn’t re-sign in free agency, and there’s no indication that he won’t, it becomes a bit harder to envision Cousins staying in the Big Easy.

With that said, the best chance the Cleveland Cavaliers have at prying Cousins away would come during the offseason – if Holiday signs with a different team.

If Holiday returns, the Cleveland Cavaliers will likely have to wait until the trade deadline to make a deal because the Pelicans would want to assess the product they have on the floor, only trading Cousins if their trend of losing with him and winning without him continued. They could also trade Cousins if they just continue to lose games in general. After all, if trading for Cousins doesn’t make the team better in the win-loss column, there’s no sense in paying him a maximum contract in the summer.

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the type of team that doesn’t want to make major changes to their roster so close to the end of the season. Only if the Cavs are struggling, by their standards, would that type of move be seriously considered late in the season.

There is the possibility that if the Cavs aggressively pursue a trade, they could get it done. Love would be a cheaper, and possibly just as productive, option for the Pelicans who will be under contract for three more seasons. While Cousins may enjoy being in New Orleans now, that may not be the case at the end of the season.

What’s more, Davis and Cousins’ skillsets overlapped so much that it’s possible that their inability to thrive as a duo was due to them needing to operate from the same spots on the floor and have the ball in their hands to create. Love is more of an off-ball player than Cousins and though he’s an able passer, you won’t see him bringing the ball upcourt like Davis or Cousins would.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers did trade for Cousins, it would give them a big man who could consistently dominate against the Warriors, which they’ve missed for the last two NBA Finals. Cousins’ size and talent should overwhelm Draymond Green and Kevin Durant in the post when they go to small lineups, while his quickness will give him an advantage over most centers. True rim-protectors will have to deal with his ability to shoot from the perimeter.

In the video below, you can get an idea of what Cousins does well on defense and what he needs to work on. While post defense is an area Cousins needs to work on, the Warriors aren’t a team looking to post players up. They rely on screens, ball movement and perimeter shooting to outscore teams.

Cousins’ length, mobility and pick-and-roll defense works well for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they’ll be spaced out by the Warriors attack, defenders will need to be able to defend on an island. Cousins not only can contest shots on the perimeter, his pick-and-roll defense is good enough for his to make plays on the ball at the rim. Love showed with his defense in Game 3 that beating the Warriors to their spots for pass deflections can give the Cavs an extra edge. Cousins will have to commit to defensive study like Love has but he has the athletic tools to make a similar impact on a consistent basis.

No matter what the Cavs choose to do, this summer is sure to be interesting with the way the they’ve looked against the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals. Love has been valuable for Cleveland but it certainly looks like Cousins could be more valuable against a team they could have to go through for years.

Do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers will attempt to trade Kevin Love for DeMarcus Cousins in the offseason to help combat the Warriors? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.