NBA Trade Deadline: Pelicans inquire about superstars Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins

The New Orleans Pelicans (23-34) is aggressively pursuing Indiana Pacers forward Paul George and Sacramento Kings centre DeMarcus Cousins ahead of Thursday's NBA Trade Deadline, per reports. While the Pacers haven't given any indication about trading George, the Kings is reportedly engaging in offers for a potential DeMarcus Cousins trade.

According to ESPN, the Pelicans is shopping its entire roster with the hopes of pairing Anthony Davis with a fellow All-Star. "The Pelicans have made virtually all their players available in talks, including Buddy Hield, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 draft, as well as multiple draft picks, per sources," Justin Verrier noted in his report Sunday evening.

DeMarcus Cousins trade: Could Pelicans form new twin towers?

The Pelicans could potentially form a new twin-towers by pairing Cousins and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt. However, when compared to teams such as the Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, the Pelicans don't have too many young assets that could draw the interest of general managers looking to trade All-Stars.

With the exception of Hield, who was drafted No. 6 overall by the Pelicans in 2016, and the 2017 first-round draft pick, New Orleans have few assets that would garner much attention. While point guard Jrue Holiday is a free agent over the summer, the likes of Tyreke Evans, Omer Asik and Dante Cunningham are aging veterans who are, at best, role players in the league.

On Sunday, the Vertical reported that the Kings is entertaining offers for Cousins, just a few weeks after general manager Vlade Divac insisted that they had no intention to part with the All-Star big man. "We're not trading DeMarcus ... we hope he's here for a long time," Divac told ESPN's Mark Stein on Feb. 6. Cousins, too, has expressed his intention to sign a long-term super max contract with the Kings that would keep him California for another five seasons at the least.

Meanwhile, DeMarcus Cousins' agent told the Vertical Sunday that "we met with Vlade and ownership, and they assured us and DeMarcus that he's not being traded." A little later in the day, Chris Mannix reported that the Kings could be leaning towards pulling off a blockbuster DeMarcus Cousins trade ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.