Lakers rumors: DeMarcus Cousins nearly joined LA

The latest Lakers rumors have everything to do with the shocking trade of DeMarcus Cousins.

Following this year’s All-Star game, former Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was informed of Sacramento’s decision to trade him.

Of all places, to the Pelicans, who hosted this year’s mid-season festivities.

Cousins will team up with Anthony Davis in hopes that New Orleans can put something special together during the second half of the season. The Pelicans gave up two future draft picks along with Buddy Hield and more in order to grab the big man.

While that’s the big story of Sunday night, the what-if story has to do with the Lakers.

According to The Vertical, it came down to Brandon Ingram.

The Lakers are still very involved with rumors at the trade deadline. Lately, the rumor is that they will move on from bench sensation Lou Williams.

Williams is the kind of player most teams could use coming with their reserve unit. He has helped the Lakers have one of the more productive benches this season.

That’s a whole different story, though.

If the Lakers had gotten rid of Ingram in a trade for Cousins, the front office wouldn’t have been received very well. There’s not much they could have said or done to defend pulling the trigger in that particular instance.

Ingram has shown plenty of promise, with the room to grow obviously through the roof. He’s drawn comparison’s to Golden State star Kevin Durant — Los Angeles would be completely foolish to send him elsewhere.

Now that a deal has been done, both the Kings and Pelicans will have to live with the consequences. New Orleans may benefit, but Sacramento didn’t off bad either at the end of the day.

Next: Jered Weaver Signs With Padres

But the Lakers still lay in wait, hoping they can turn things around soon.