NBA trade rumors 2017: Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins piquing the interest of Phoenix Suns?

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (L) and Toronto Raptors big man Amir Johnson (R) fight for the loose ball during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Sacramento, California.REUTERS/Max Whittaker

There are just a few weeks remaining until the February 23 NBA trade deadline and one of the big names doing the rounds is DeMarcus Cousins. 

The Sacramento Kings center's name has often got NBA fans buzzing around trade season and this time he is being linked to the Phoenix Suns. 

As a star player, it remains to be seen whether the Kings will really part with him.  

Last time round, he was linked with the Lakers and Brandon Ingram among other names. In the end, the talks didn't lead anywhere.

For now, it seems like the Lakers' leadership isn't so interested in changing up its roster to include Cousins.  The Suns, however, are reportedly very keen, and according to John Gambadoro of ArizonaSports.com are considering giving up their small forward T.J. Warren and center Alex Len among others in exchange for the prized player. 

As LakersNation note, the Suns are nearly at the bottom, second worst only to the Brooklyn Nets, and in desparate need of a game-raising point guard to revive their fortunes, although the outlet reports that they may also consider Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball. 

Cousins hasn't always had a smooth ride with referees and he has something of a reputation for a temper on court, so it's not surprising that according to a poll by Burns and Gambo, over a third of 3,500 voters did not want the Suns to do a trade deal for him, despite his impressive stats. 

Suns general manager Ryan McDonough did nothing to extinguish talk of a possible deal though, when he said on the Burns and Gambo show that a player like Cousins was "not something we're necessariy scared of."

He went on to say that the ideal fit for their team in terms of age would be early to mid-20s, which would put the 26-year-old Cousins in the right bracket. 

Comments like that are certainly lending weight to the possibility of a Kings-Sun deal.