Pointless Trade Idea

Knicks get Demarcus Cousins
Lakers get David Lee
Kings get Jordan Hill, Knicks 2015 1st round pick, Knicks 2015 2nd round pick
Warriors get 2015 2nd round pick from Lakers, 2016 2nd round pick from Knicks.

Would the Knicks give up their 1st round pick (potentially #1) and their 2nd round pick (#32) for Demarcus Cousins?  Fuck yeah, they would!  Everybody loves high 1st round picks but as much as I like the college talent this year, none of these guys are can't miss guys.  Cousins is already the most underappreciated player in the league and New York is exactly where he wants to be.  Would he thrive in the triangle offense?  I doubt it.  Would he thrive next to Melo?  Probably not.  Doesn't matter, Cousins can be the best player in the league and he's worth way more than that (but the Knicks don't have any more than that).

Would the Lakers give up 1yr/$9m Jordan Hill and a 2nd round pick for 1yr/$15.4m David Lee?  Sure, why not?  Lee is a better player, either way its only a one year commitment, and even if the Lakers can get Kevin Love, Lee is a better bench player than Hill.  They'd be taking more salary but the Lakers don't care about money.  I think Lee whether starting or not is a better asset for next year than Jordan Hill and a 2nd round pick doesn't seem like much to pay.

Would the Kings prefer Jordan Hill and the #1 pick to Cousins?  No but it seems like everything they've ever done for Cousins has failed.  The Kings are a natural born bunch of bunglers and having Cousins (the BEST contract in the league right now) is a waste of a good talent.  Would Hill and Okafor be better than Cousins?  Almost certainly not but it gives the Kings something to hold on to.

Would the Warriors be willing to give David Lee for a coupla 2nd round picks?  Yes.  They've got to re-sign Draymond Green and that means either Lee or Iguodala HAS to go.  They're not looking to get anything back, indeed, those 2nd round picks can be protected to amazing limits, the Warriors don't need anything back.

(Normally the contracts have to match to make a trade in the NBA but since draft picks are involved, because the Warriors want to subtract without adding back and because the Knicks have nothing beyond their #1 pick to offer, this deal could still work)

The Knicks would probably do that deal (Phil Jax wants veterans not rookies) but that #1 pick is pretty much their only movable asset, they need more than just Cousins and a #1 pick can maybe bring back two or three bodies rather than just one.  They might need volume to fill out their roster.

The Warriors would be more than happy to send Cousins to the East, pad the Laker salary and watch the Kings flounder with another heralded rookie.  They don't even need the picks back to make this work for them!

The Lakers....eh, this doesn't really solve any of their problems but its not a terrible move.  And getting Cousins shipped out of their division is probably worth it.

Looking back over this the Kings don't get nearly enough for Cousins but if Cousins really wants out, the team will probably have to eat some value to make it work.  Honestly for the next 2 years I'd rather Cousins on his current deal than just about anyone else in the league (including Okafor, Towns, or whoever) so the Kings are pretty much guaranteed to come up short in any deal for Cousins.  But if they can shake out the #1 pick and a good 2nd round pick and a nice young veteran, that's not a bad haul (though they can probably do better).