Wow. I think I hit your long-standing Rasheed Wallace nerve.
Yes, on reflection I remember that you were always against trading Wallace and that you thought that Nash got fleeced. I don't want to dive into that quagmire again except to say that I've always been of the opinion that Nash had little choice but to move Rasheed. The same dynamic that you talk about as Atlanta's reason for moving him immediately, his desire to play on a championship contender and not being willing to re-sign with a non-contender, were in play in Portland as well. IMO, the Sheed defenders always underplayed the "Jail Blazers" dynamic and just passed it off as a vendetta by the Oregonian. To this day, any talk around the country about the Blazers' history brings up that era and that nickname. I suspect that the directive to move Wallace came from PA. You've seen how he went all-in on character guys this summer. I think the opposite was true at the end of the Wallace-era. Could Nash have gotten more for Wallace? Maybe, but it was definitely a buyer's market on the guy. I've always been of the opinion that had Wallace not been such a jackass, the Blazers either would have retained him or they would have been able to move him for better players. Sheed shafted us fans and we ended up with several years of crappy basketball as a result. You, obviously won't agree with, but I guess at this point it doesn't really matter.
I didn't intend to say that Cousins and Wallace are the same situations. I was just pointing out that there are sometimes situations beyond basketball talent that cause teams to make moves and sometimes the return the team nets is less than what you'd otherwise expect. Cousins actions on and off the court have probably tainted his reputation a bit, but probably not to the degree that Wallace had hit by the end of his tenure in Portland. He does have the ending contract issue and that will be a concern for the Kings, if they think he won't re-sign, and for any team that might make an offer for him. Given the right situation, I wouldn't mind seeing the Blazers take a gamble on him. Better teammates around him and a winning situation could make him happier and more successful. I doubt that the Kings would be interested in a deal with a Western Conference team and I doubt that an offer of CJ and, say Plumlee would get their attention, but stranger things have happened in the NBA.
