The John Wall - DeMarcus Cousins rumors are never going away

Now that KD2DC has come and gone, Wizards fans have had to reset their sights on the next-best potentially available star in the NBA. Right now, that would happen to be DeMarcus Cousins, who went for 36 points, 20 rebounds, and 4 assists in an overtime loss to the Wizards in Washington on Monday night.

Before his big game, he was asked about what it would be like to reunite with John Wall and things got interesting, as you’d expect:

Like it or not, DMC2DC is the new KD2DC. More importantly, DMC2DC has the potential to become an even bigger circus than chasing after Kevin Durant. Here’s why:

Wall and Cousins have a real bond

Wall and Durant were cool with each other, but Wall and Cousins are legit buddies, going back to their days at Kentucky. You'd have to think that bond would have a better chance at spurring a partnership than Wall and Durant playing flag football together or whatever.

Whatever happens in the future, people will always ask about Wall and Cousins reuniting because it's so rare to see two players who went to college at the same time develop into All-Star players. It's only natural for people to ask about what it would be like to get them back together at the NBA level.

Washington isn’t the only place where a Wall-Cousins reunion can happen

This isn’t a one-sided chase like when the Wizards threw everything at trying to get Kevin Durant. Depending on how things play out, who’s to say Wall couldn’t end up reuniting with Cousins in Sacramento? The Kings have been desperately searching for a dynamic point guard the same way the Wizards have been looking for a center all these years.

The Wizards and Kings are both scrambling to find ways to develop the players they have into competent supporting pieces around their current star, or use them as assets to acquire the missing star from Kentucky. Right now, the Wizards probably have a slight edge in the asset race, but it’s hard to see how either team has enough assets in place to put together a fair deal for the other team’s star.

Wall and Cousins hit free agency at different times

DeMarcus Cousins’ contract expires at the end of the 2017-18 season, Wall has to wait until the year after to hit the market. So if Wall and Cousins wanted to use free agency to reunite, DeMarcus would have to sign a one-year deal to keep his options open the following summer. But in doing so, he’d have to sacrifice long-term money since no team would have the Bird Rights to offer him a five-year deal the following summer.

Wall and Cousins would also mean that they’d have to find a team with enough cap space to sign two players to max deals and still have enough assets to cobble together a supporting cast that’s better than what they have in their current situations. It’s doable, but it’s easier said than done.

Neither team is in a good spot right now

The Wizards and Kings are both on the outside of the playoff picture and it doesn't feel like either team has a great path to get back in the mix. The Wizards are capped out and the Kings' draft pick situation will make it hard to add more young talent to their squad.

But even though things are bleak, it's going to be hard for either team to sign off on trading their star. Guys like Wall and Cousins don't come along often, especially in Washington and Sacramento. No one on either side wants to be the one to concede they weren't able to put a proper team around their franchise player.

With KD2DC, there was a clear path to acquiring the star, a clear end date to all the speculation, and no risk of losing Wall in the process. DMC2DC has none of that. There’s no easy trade that can reunite them, their contracts are out-of-sync, and people will never stop wondering if they’ll try to relive their glory year at Kentucky. So buckle up Wizards fans, this could be a loooooooooooong ride.