Report: Cousins plans to sign max extension with Kings this summer

For all the dysfunction that's dogged the Sacramento Kings since they drafted DeMarcus Cousins in 2010, it appears he has no intention of skipping town any time soon.

Though he can become a free agent after next season, Cousins intends to sign a five-year max extension with the Kings this summer, a source told CSN's James Ham.

The two sides have "tossed around numbers," Ham reports, and will reach an agreement "barring a late change in direction by either side."

Tossing around numbers seems like a pointless exercise, given that Cousins is virtually guaranteed to get the max and thus have his contract dictated by the league's salary cap and not the Kings.

The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, which will kick in at the conclusion of this season, includes a provision that allows teams to offer a designated incumbent player a super-max deal. That includes being able to offer an additional year on an extension, and up to 35 percent of the team's cap in the first year of the deal, regardless of service time.

Under the outgoing CBA, all players had to accrue at least 10 years of service time to be eligible to earn 35 percent of the cap, but Cousins - currently in his seventh season - can make that much as the Kings' designated player, provided he meets certain performance-based criteria. The cap is projected to rise to $103 million next season, and a super-max extension would net Cousins an estimated $207 million.

The 26-year-old big man is averaging a career-high 28.1 points this season, along with 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks, plus an impressive 37.2 percent mark from 3-point range on nearly five attempts per game. He's also had his seemingly annual spate of off-court issues, including a confrontation with a local reporter. He's leading the league in technical fouls for the second straight season, and is on pace to both shatter his personal record and earn an automatic suspension by the All-Star break.