If we trade Cousins, I feel like it has to be at the end of the year. My reasoning? Unless we trade him to a team like Boston, Cousins will help any team's current record. For ex, let's say the Pelicans are 4-30 by trade deadline. They're willing to give us Buddy Hield, 2017, and 2018 1st round picks. By the time the season ends, they could very well be at 45 wins...making that pick invaluable.
As sucky as the Nets are, they're actually 2-4. The Wizards, Sixers, Timberwolves, Mavericks, Pelicans, and Kings are actually worse. There's also teams like Denver, Phoenix, and Orlando who could end up as bottom teams too. There's no guarantee that the Nets pick becomes a bottom 3.
This is why I think it makes much more sense to trade Cuz at the end of the season. We could trade Gay, McLemore, Collison, and Casspi at trade deadline though.