The Sixer Sense
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DeMarcus Cousins Staying in Sacramento, Teams Flocking to Philly for Big?

By Josh Wilson

Jan 10, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) smiles between plays against the Detroit Pistons during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Detroit Pistons 100-94. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) smiles between plays against the Detroit Pistons during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Detroit Pistons 100-94. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA rumors indicate that DeMarcus Cousins will be signing a max contract extension with the Sacramento Kings. Will this lead teams to want Philadelphia 76ers bigs?

In a recent turn of events in the NBA rumors world, the Sacramento Kings and DeMarcus Cousins gave us a, “hah! You thought!” as the two sides have reportedly agreed to terms on a contract extension that will be signed this summer.

"CSN California has confirmed through a league source that the two sides have tossed around numbers and that barring a late change in direction by either side, Cousins intends to sign a massive, max-money extension, estimated at roughly $207 million during the offseason that will keep the big man in a Kings uniform long-term."

Cousins was one of the players leading this year’s NBA trade rumors, as it seemed like the Kings and Cousins just weren’t the best fit.

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While this deal can’t be signed until July when free agency officially opens up, agreed upon terms from both sides does pretty much take Cousins off of the trade market. Cousins also told the media that he loved Sacramento and that he was staying.

Teams that may have wanted to add the dominant big man to their roster now will be unable to, unless they can come up with a deal that really wows the Kings and Cousins enough to go against the terms they’ve agreed upon.

With that in mind, the Philadelphia 76ers may be able to slip in and make their name known as an option for teams looking to trade for a big man.

The Sixers have a cluster of big man clogging up their frontcourt. Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor are all players they have under contract that are big men and former lottery picks, and Richaun Holmes looks to be a decent player as well.

The Sixers have struggled all season with figuring out how to balance their logjam in the frontcourt, and that has resulted in many failed experiments with the team trying to run different combinations of big men on the floor together.

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Nothing has really worked, and it’s clear that the Sixers need to move one, if not two big men. Ideally, they would like to make their move this season before the trade deadline, because Nerlens Noel is a restricted free agent this summer, and the Sixers will either have to pay him or let him walk without getting anything in return for him if they go past the deadline this year.

With Cousins all of a sudden going off of the market, any team who was looking to add a big to their team may come to the Sixers, who have plenty. Embiid is an untouchable, but any of the other three big men will be available, and may be available at a low price due to the current problems the Sixers are facing.

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While no teams have been reported to be interested directly in the Sixers bigs, some teams, such as the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns, make sense as a fit. Only time will tell whether or not Cousins being off of the market helps the Sixers move a big. It certainly opens up the big man trade market quite a bit.