DeMarcus Cousins' Dominating Performance

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Last night DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings went up against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers. Damian Lillard would finish the game with 24 points and 15 assists for the game. His teammate, C.J. McCollum however, had a much better shooting night than Lillard putting up 36 points on 59 percent shooting. But their performances were overshadowed by DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins helped the Kings to a 126-121 victory behind his 55 points and 13 rebounds.

This was only Cousins second 50 point game of his career. What really grabbed fans attention was the moment Cousins received his second technical of the game. What made the technical unusual was that it was rescinded after Cousins had already made his way back to the locker room. Cousins had to be fetched from the locker room to get back out on the court.

Cousins is a target for referees and they always keep a close eye on everything he does. In this case, the ref called a technical on him for spitting his mouthpiece out at the Blazers bench. The refs got together after the call and quickly talked it over. They came to the conclusion that his mouthpiece fell out of his mouth and rescinded the technical. In the post game interview, Cousins said, "It's ridiculous. It's obvious what's being done out here. It's on a nightly basis. I hope the world can see now what's really going on out here."

Maybe this will be the start of change amongst referees looking for any excuse to remove Cousins from the game. Cousins is at fault sometimes, but he has really come a long way with controlling himself since entering the league. His reputation with his emotion still warrants refs to take any precautions so that nothing escalates to the next level. Hopefully, refs will take it easier on Cousins when it comes to technicals because he is by far the heart and soul of the Kings, without him, the Kings have no shot at winning games. In any matter, it was nice to see the refs come together and fix the mistake they had made.

NBA: 5 Biggest Surprises so far this Season

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Wizards Early Struggles

The Washington Wizards are a team that going into this season were expected to improve from last season. Last year Bradley Beal was out for a good portion of the season and the team had struggles of their own. They made a late season push ending with a .500 win percentage. The problem was the East was very competitive and a 41-41 record landed the Wizards at 10th missing the playoffs. Being fully healthy and the arrival of a new coach many expected the Wizards to make the playoffs this year. Although it is still early the Wizards are 1-5 through six games. They are tied for third worst in the NBA. I think this will change as the season goes on. This team needs time to play with each other and they need to get used to Scott Brooks system.

USATODAY.com

Lakers Early Success

The Lakers are 4-4 on the season. For a team expected to land in the lottery again they have started off strong. They are also a young group. With Luke Walton at the helm it should be interesting to see if he can keep the team winning at this rate. It would be shocking to see the Lakers make the playoffs, but like the Wizards it is a long season. I expect the Lakers to have change of fortune sooner or later.

Kelley L. Cox/USA TODAY Sports

Under the Radar Team

With all the trade speculation and discombobulation surrounding the Kings they have a 4-5 record. It is  a good sign for a team that has such bad reputation. All the questions with their roster moves, management, and even ownership maybe this will be the change of things. It is the Sacramento Kings though. Chances are they will trade Darren Collison for another Center just to see how many they can get before DeMarcus Cousins throws Vlade Divac through a wall.

Point Harden?

Well many questioned Mike D'Antoni making James Harden the Rockets starting point guard. The result? Fantastic. Harden is averaging 31.6 points per game and 12.7 assists per game. That is third and first in the league respectively. With a 4-3 record the Rockets are looking alright after Dwight Howard left for Atlanta.

Frank Gunn/AP File Photo

DeMar DeRozan

There has not been a lot of talk about DeMar DeRozan or the Toronto Raptors. DeMar DeRozan is quietly averaging 33.7 points per game and his team is 4-2. In a league so three point oriented DeRozan has only taken 10 three pointers and made 2. It is crazy to think he is leading the league in scoring. Every year the Raptors are the most slept on team and they never get the attention they deserve. Keep an eye out for DeRozan for this could be the year he wins the scoring title if he keeps it up.

DeMarcus Cousins to Cleveland?

USATSI

With one more day before the start of the NBA season it is time to start rounding up predictions. Today's prediction is DeMarcus Cousins being traded to Cleveland at some point this season. 

It is no secret that DeMarcus Cousins is not happy in Sacramento. Since Cousins has arrived in Sacramento the Kings have yet to make the playoffs. In fact the teams best season since 2010 was last year and they only won 33 games. The organization does not seem to know what they are doing. Their free agent signings are questionable and their draft selections have been real headscratchers. They have yet to draft good talent despite being in the lottery for a decade now. The only good draft selection they have made is DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins has been waiting patiently for a long time for the franchise to surround him with better talent, but they have failed to do so. As a result Cousins name has been in trade rumors for years now. But could this be the year Cousins finally gets to leave the Kings?

The Sacramento Kings have the upper hand with Cousins right now. Cousins signed a 4 year maximum extension back in 2013. This means Cousins is under contract until the summer of 2018. It would be hard for Cousins to force his way out because the Kings know that he will be back next season if they do not think they can receive fair value in return.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

But here is where things get interesting. Kevin Love has been in trade talks since the Cavaliers lost the championship in 2015. Since then the rumors have died down, but there are always going to be trade speculation around Love. Since Love arrived in Cleveland his numbers have fallen off a cliff. A guy that would average 20 points and 12 rebounds a night is averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds a night. This is because he is not the focal point of Cleveland's offense.

Now here is why a Kevin Love for DeMarcus Cousins swap would be perfect for both teams. DeMarcus Cousins would finally be out of Sacramento and be with a championship contender. Also the Cavaliers do not have a true center of their roster beside Chris Anderson. This would fill one of the Cavaliers needs while making them stronger.

Ed Szczepanski/USA TODAY Sports

For Sacramento they would be getting back the best talent they can get for Cousins. Also while bringing back talent they would bring in a guy who is under contract until 2019. This would give them more time to assemble something around their new star player in Kevin Love. Also Kevin Love's production would see a huge increase by being on a team that runs their offense through him. If the Kings were smart they could give the team a whole new identity by trading away Rudy Gay and others for draft picks or role players to surround Love with.

It may be painful for Sacramento, but the clock is counting down. If something does not change immediately this year Cousins will be looking to get out as soon as possible. This may be their best bet to bring in a good return for a player they know they are going to lose at some point. It will jump start a process that at this point seems inevitable. Time will only tell if this trade will become a reality this season.