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[ATLBrayden]

COUSINS DEMANDS TRADE

DeMarcus Cousins has officially demanded a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. He has not officially spoken on anything but sources say he has given the team a preferred list of destinations. As for the reason, it's not entirely known. It's believed that Cousins is unhappy with his role in the team. Despite winning the title, Cousins felt he was not getting enough touches in the offense. Sitting behind AD and LBJ, the Lakers simply felt he was not needed to be a primary focus. Cousins averaged 20.9PPG on 14.8FGA per game for the Lakers.

Cousins believes he has returned to form and wants be the star player with a team built around him. His preferred destinations aren't confirmed, but they're believed to be the Grizzlies, Kings, Nets, and Spurs.

The team has not made an official statement on Cousins' demands at the moment. They'll review any offers they get for him and then decide on the best course of action. Cousins is a free agent at the end of the season.

[ATLBrayden]

THE OFFSEASON

The season has finally come to a close, the Lakers are your NBA champions. Now, it's time for teams to move forward and gear up for next season. First, let's take a look at some players who have decided to call it a career on the league.



Vince Carter has finally decided to retire. He enters the Hall of Fame after having an illustrious career playing for eight different NBA teams. He played an NBA record 22 seasons in the league.



Tony Parker has also decided to see his way out of the league. Before retiring, Parker signed a one day contract with San Antonio. He has not yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Pelicans won the draft lottery once again! After going 42-40 on the season and missing the playoffs, the Pelicans took the first overall pick despite the astronomical odds against them. New Orleans is looking stuffed with potential and like they will be a very scary team in the future.

NBA Draft - Top 5 Recap
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
#1	New Orleans Pelicans	James Wiseman - 81OVR	C	7'1''	225lbs
#2	Washington Wizards	Isaiah Stewart - 78OVR	PF	6'10''	245lbs
#3	Dallas Mavericks	Anthony Edwards - 81OVR	SG	6'6''	215lbs
#4	Atlanta Hawks	LaMelo Ball - 80OVR	PG	6'8''	185lbs
#5	Detroit Pistons	Nico Mannion - 76OVR	PG	6'3''	195lbs

The Lakers drafted SG Aaron Wiggins out of Maryland with the 24th overall pick (GSW, from Josh Hart trade). Wiggins is 21 years old, 6'6'' 200lbs, and 73ovr. He struggles from mid-range (68) but can stretch the floor (80 three) and bang inside (84 lay-up). He's also an above average perimeter defender (B-). He shot 93% from the line in college, something that will come in handy on a Lakers team that struggled to hit from the stripe last season. Wiggins will see considerable rotation minutes.

In the first stage of free agency, Anthony Davis opted out of his player option as we all knew he would. AD pushed his was into Los Angeles and officially made it a long term stay. Davis signed a fresh contract for five years worth $178.18 million. With an aging LeBron, AD will be the franchise centerpiece in the coming seasons.

LAKERS BLOW IT UP

It's not often you see a team win the championship and then completely blow their roster up, but that's exactly what happened here. Cousins has yet to speak on the trade but sources from his camp say he was unhappy with his role in the team. He was playing third fiddle to LeBron and AD and wanted more touches so he demanded to be traded somewhere that he would thrive. The Lakers let DeMarcus choose his destination as a gesture of good will.

Cousins wished to play for the Kings so that's where LA sent him. The Lakers decided with the departure of Boogie, they would need to completely re-tool their roster and what the team's focus is. In a cluster of trades the Lakers unloaded T.J. McConnell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and DeMarcus Cousins for draft compensation. They received a 2021 top 3 protected first round pick, 2022 top 5 protected first round pick, and 2022 lottery protected first round pick. The teams included were the Kings, Suns, and Grizzlies. The Lakers aren't expecting too much out of these picks, especially considering 2/3 teams made the playoffs last year, but they figured it was better to get something rather than nothing from Cousins and co.

Since the super-team had now been broken up and no premiere free agents were available, the Lakers went the route of extreme depth and shooting.

At PG, the Lakers signed Seth Curry, George Hill, and Quinn Cook. Curry received 2yrs/$8.55m, Hill got 1yr/$1.62m, and Cook got 2yrs/$8.40m.

At SG, the Lakers signed J.J. Redick, Dairis Bertans, and J.R. Smith. Reddick received 1yr/$8.20m, Dairis Bertans got 1yr/$898k, and J.R. got 1yr/$3.60m.

At SF, the Lakers signed Joe Harris to back up LeBron James. The sharpshooting small forward received 2yrs/$20.50m.

At PF, the Lakers signed Davis Bertans to a 2yr/$14.19m deal. They also brought back stretch four Mike Scott on a 1yr/$1.62m deal.

At C, we have some familiar faces. LA has brought back Joakim Noah and Boban Marjanovic both on 1yr/$1.62m deals.

There are only four returning players from the Lakers' NBA finals rotation. For now, the Lakers will run Curry and Reddick at the guards, LBJ and AD at the forwards, and Marjanovic at the five. For the bench they'll have Quinn Cook and rookie Aaron Wiggins at the guards, Harris and Bertans at the forwards, and Noah at center. George Hill and J.R. Smith should also see some solid playing time, especially when the team needs bigger bodies at the guards.

This team is much more focused on perimeter shooting than the last. With LeBron and AD running the pick and roll, they'll have plenty of shooter to kick out to. Last season for Portland, Curry put up 7.9PPG with on 3.4 3PA per game. He shot 45% from deep. Redick put up 15.3PPG for the Jazz last season on 42.5% shooting from 3 with 6.5 attempts per game.

The bench is much improved from last year's. They have elite shooters (Cook, Harris, Bertans), good playmakers in George Hill and Wiggins, and a high IQ veteran at C in Noah.

FREE AGENCY RECAP

Mike Conley re-signs with Grizzlies for 5 years $164.5m

Al Horford stays in Boston, signs 4 year $96.54m extension

Heat bring back Whiteside on a 4 year $102.56m contract

Raptors re-sign Marc Gasol for 3 years $59.69m

Ben Simmons stays a 76ers, signs 5 year $146.44m extension

Brandon Ingram gets paid in New Orleans, signs for 5 years $151.52m

Kings bring back Buddy Hield for 4 years $98.2m

Montrezl Harrell stays with Clippers on 4 year $99.6m deal

Jamal Murray re-signs with Nuggets, 4yrs/$114.13m

Pascal Siakam stays in Toronto, signs for 5 years $151.52m

Dejounte Murray stays with the Spurs, signs 4 year $117.04m extension

Caris LeVert joins the Hawks on a 3 year, $41.34m contract

Jaylen Brown goes to the Magic on a 3 year, $82.29m deal