NBA Trade Rumors 2016: Cavs Want to Seal the Deal with Kings' Kosta Koufos
The NBA trade deadline is only a couple of days away and it certainly looks like this year will end as a quiet one with no major deals and swaps happening. But before trade discussions officially end, the Cleveland Cavaliers are making a last ditch effort to get Sacramento Kings backup center Kosta Koufos.
Acquiring the 26-year-old seems to make perfect sense for the Cavs since Koufos traces his beginnings in basketball at Ohio State and that he is represented by Rich Paul, who happens to be the same agent who represents LeBron James.
With Timofey Mozgov falling out of favor in Cleveland and Tristan Thompson always needing someone else to fill in for his offensive weaknesses, Koufos could be a perfect fit to complement the Cavaliers' frontline. He is a good defender with long arms and is definitely younger than Brazilian Anderson Varejao.
But what's really more intriguing about the Cavs' interest in Koufos is that it once again fuels the rumor of Kevin Love being on his way out. The team has been doing a lot of talk with other teams in the past few weeks and most of them are centered on acquiring an additional body to the frontline. Well, if Koufos was to become a Cavalier before the trade deadline, the front office will have more reason to deal Love in the near future.
With the arrival of lottery pick Willie Cauley-Stein and the continued improvement of DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings now have a very bright future in their frontcourt, and Koufos may no longer be part of it. It's fair for George Karl and Vlade Divac to send him somewhere else where he can get the minutes he deserves. After all, as long as Karl remains as head coach, Koufos won't have the playing time because Karl prefers an up-tempo style of offense with guys like Cousins, Cauley-Stein, and Rudy Gay running the court.
