Nothing is off the table for Cousins. If we want him we could get him, but that means giving up Smart and probably two Brooklyn picks. That's a tough deal to swallow, because in order to compete with a team that has a high lotto pick like LAL we will have to compile assets that still have a lot of potential growth in them. For example, Smart could become an All-Star guard in a few years and both those Brooklyn picks could be lotto. As of now though, Smart is a 20 year old who likely won't finish in the top 5 of ROY voting, and the value of those BKN picks is far more vague than the value of (if they get it) LAL's top 5 pick this year.
If Sacramento didn't already show their true feelings about IT, he and some other pieces could make up for the lack of Smart. Maybe there is a third team that would pay equal value for him? Would Indiana give up its 1st for him, giving them:
George Hill/Isaiah Thomas
?/RJ Hunter
P. George/S. Hill
West/Scola
Hibbert/Mahinmi
and allowing us to send Sacramento:
Olynyk
James Young
Indiana 1st (likely 11)
2016 BKN 1st
2017 better of BOS/BKN 1sts
To me that's an offer Sacramento absolutely considers. I'm not convinced SAC is going to get an offer that includes a top 5 pick. There isn't a team like Cleveland last year that owns a pick even comparable to the #1 in the Wiggins draft and also has the supporting cast ready to hit the ground running with acquired star X. New York can't trade its 1st this year, right?
I'd say of serious candidates we're in the top 5. In this order I'd rank: Chicago, Boston, LAL, Orlando, Charlotte. That ranking considers both assets available and willingness to pay. For example, Charlotte could easily outbid us. But would they relinquish the necessary assets to do so with a far more unstable coaching situation than ours and a supporting cast that consistently underperforms unlike ours?
I'd be scared of Chicago.
Gibson
Mirotic
McDermott
SAC future 1st
CHI future 1st
could top our best offer, but I haven't seen anything to suggest Chicago's interested. And what would that mean for Noah?
Anyways, sorry for rambling, I'm in all-basketball mode today. Long story short we'd need to catch a few breaks like any team would, but Cousins is not out of reach.