DeMarcus Cousins spoke to the media before the Sacramento Kings played the Washington Wizards about the possibility of playing with John Wall.

Cousins was asked if he and Wall ever discuss the situations they presently find themselves in where they're playing for teams not presently considered contenders. Cousins and Wall were teammates at Kentucky.

"Do we ever talk about playing with one another? Is that your question? It's come up," said Cousins. "They're going to all come to Sac. Come to Sac."

Cousins won't be a free agent until 2018 but he is currently adamant about wanting to remain with the Kings. Wall won't be a free agent until 2019.

"He wants me here," said Cousins about Wall. "Eric (Bledsoe) wants us in Phoenix."

Cousins was asked if he thinks there will ever be a time when he plays with Wall.

"You never know. Maybe. There might be a time we team up in a rec league after we retire or something. You never know."

Cousins was finally asked if playing with Wall is something he would want.

"Play with John and Eric again... you never know what will happen. It's the NBA, so hopefully one day he'll be in a Sacramento uniform," said Cousins.

Kevin Martin has announced his retirement from the NBA.

Martin spent last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs. Martin played 12 years total in the league, most notably with the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets.

"My family and close friends have known since June of the direction I wanted my life to go. Those were the toughest conversations that I have ever had but with the ultimate support I knew I was making the right decision," Martin wrote in the advertisement published in his local newspaper in Ohio.

Martin was traded by the Rockets to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the James Harden trade.

The Sacramento Kings have given the representatives of Omri Casspi permission to search out potential trade partners. Dan Fegan represents Casspi as well as DeMarcus Cousins.

Casspi hasn't been part of Dave Joerger's rotations plans so far this season.

Casspi enjoyed a career year in 15-16 under George Karl.

Casspi will be a free agent in the 2017 offseason.

DeMarcus Cousins will be a free agent in 2018 and the Sacramento Kings still don't look like a probable playoff team. The Kings have two more trade deadlines and an offseason to consider trading Cousins.

Cousins is averaging 26.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists with a PER of 27.3 this season.

The relationship between Cousins and the Kings' management has been at times tumultuous. 

"I've had a couple of guys from other teams tell me they're starting to hear the Kings are starting to get sick of Cousins," said Lowe. "No one knows who's making the decisions from the ownership level, not who's making the decisions, but there's just so many voices among ownership. They have a million minority owners. Vlade (Divac) and Ken Catanella; there's just a lot of voices and no one knows who quite to listen to."

Omri Casspi remains outside the Sacramento Kings' rotation and his situation hasn't been discussed with Dave Joerger.

"We haven't talked since preseason," said Casspi. 

Casspi is an eight-year veteran that has typically featured in faster small lineups.

“I am at the point in my career where I am trying to do whatever I can to help the team,” Casspi said. “Just waiting for my opportunity.”

Joerger was recently asked if he's considered replacing Rudy Gay with Casspi.

“You want me to give him some of Rudy’s minutes? Yeah, that’s not happening,” Joerger said.

Casspi is in the final season of his current deal.

The Sacramento Kings have assigned rookie center Georgios Papagiannis to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League.

Papagiannis has accrued averages of 10.3 points (.467 FG%, .750 FT%), 6.7 rebounds and 2.34 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game in three appearances for the Bighorns this season.

Papagiannis was the 13th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

The Sacramento Kings will begin to play smaller after losing four straight games.

The Kings have been starting Kosta Koufos at center with DeMarcus Cousins at power forward. After falling behind by 26 points to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first half, Sacramento shifted to a lineup with Cousins at center, Rudy Gay at power forward, Arron Afflalo at small forward along with Ty Lawson and Darren Collison in a dual point guard backcourt.

“I’ve seen enough,” Dave Joerger said. “We’re going to play small. DeMarcus is going to play center. I don’t know who else will play with him. It just gives us more zip, more life, more experience. That’s not any detriment to anyone else or what they’ve done.”

Joerger will have to sort out which players fit best around Cousins.

The Kings had more energy after the lineup change.

“We have five skill guys then,” Joerger said. “You can’t cheat, you can’t roam, you have to play everybody. It gave us another dimension in the pick-and-roll, having two playmakers out there.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder remain interested in trading for Rudy Gay.

Gay can become a free agent in the 2017 offseason and is not expected to have interest in re-signing with the Sacramento Kings.

The Thunder have always had an interest in bigger wings like Gay, who would allow them to slide Victor Oladipo to a 6th man role and Andre Roberson to shooting guard.

Gay is a career 34.5 percent three-point shooter and is shooting 42.4 percent this season.

DeMarcus Cousins is averaging 26.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the Sacramento Kings as they continue to struggle to field a competent team around him. Cousins will be a free agent in the 2018 offseason, which gives the Kings just three more windows to trade him otherwise risk having him leave without compensation.

“It is not going to happen unless the Kings cave a little,” said a Western Conference general manager. “No one is going to give up too much for someone who might ruin your team’s chemistry this year, then ruin it next year when he is playing for free-agent money. If they don’t see that, then I don’t think it changes and I don’t think he goes anywhere. I don’t know that is good for them or for him, either. But that’s the reality.”

Some executives expect the Kings to explore trade scenarios involving Cousins as early as December.

“I’d say they have three months, tops,” said the GM. “Probably more like a month, or month-and-a-half, because the closer they get to the (February trade) deadline, the less they’re going to get back. If you’re trying to trade him the week of the deadline, it’s going to be tougher.”

The Kings aren't ready to give up on the current season and will evaluate the team following their five straight home games.

“You have one owner in Sacramento who does not want to give him up,” an Eastern Conference GM said. “And you have 29 other owners who don’t want to overpay because they are scared the guy is going to be a headache and is going to hurt the organization.”

The Sacramento Kings are not yet looking to make a trade with the 16-17 season still relatively young.

There was a report this week that the Kings were open to trading Willie Cauley-Stein. The Kings have been happy with the approach of Cauley-Stein of late.

Sacramento is withholding making judgments about their roster until they see a full set of games with Darren Collison.