DeMarcus Cousins
Earlier this week the basketball bombshell broke when it was announced that the New Orleans Pelicans had acquire center DeMarcus Cousins from the Sacramento Kings. In nearly seven seasons with the Kings, Cousins averaged 21.1 points and 10.8 rebounds as he leaves Sacramento as one of the best players in the history of the franchise. But during Cousins’ time with the Kings, he became the poster boy for players who put up big numbers while failing to make the team around them better. With Cousins leading the way for the Kings they were never able to make the playoffs, while he played under six different head coaches. At the All-Star break the Kings were in ninth place in the Western Conference as they were only -1.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot. However with Kings trading Cousins, they are waving the white flag for this season as he’ll now join a Pelicans that began the second half of the NBA season in 11th place in the Western Conference and 2.5 behind the Nuggets. And for Cousins the excuses must now be a thing of the past for him.
Throughout Cousins’ entire NBA career, it has always been someone else’s fault which has seen Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divac consistently siding with him. Cousins developed a reputation around the NBA as a “coach killer”, and a player whom nobody could get through to. And ever with a weaker Western Conference this season, it wasn’t a guarantee that the Kings were going to be able to end their long playoff drought which dates back to 2006 as Cousins was never to get this franchise over the hump.
Anthony Davis
Now Cousins is in New Orleans where he’ll play alongside another Kentucky Wildcats alum in power forward Anthony Davis. In five seasons with the Pelicans, Davis has become one of the NBA’s best big men as he is averaging 27.7 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per contest. In acquiring Cousins and small forward Omri Casspi from the Kings, the Pelicans gave up guards Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, and Buddy Hield, along with their first and second-round picks here in 2017. And even though the Pelicans sacrificed their play on the perimeter in order to get Cousins, there aren’t too many teams in the Western Conference that can match up with him and Davis. You can all but pencil in Cousins and Davis to combine for at least 50 points each night as it is the classic example of “pick your poison”. It’s been a long time since the NBA has seen a combination on the interior in their prime that can score in the fashion that Davis and Cousins can which makes them an instant headache for opponents. But for Cousins who has never appeared in the NBA Playoffs, if he cannot do it now, will he ever?
At the end of the day the NBA is a business and Cousins’ arrival in New Orleans gives him a fresh start. But for Cousins there cannot be any finger pointing at Davis for taking too many shots, or a failure to listen to Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry as it is simply time to do whatever it takes in order to win.
As talented as Cousins is, he is one the NBA’s biggest headaches as he has already accrued 17 technical fouls this season which led to a one-game suspension. Cousins has worked to remedy his frustration which at times gets the best of him, but now more than ever, he must check his ego at the door. But Cousins’ time with the Pelicans didn’t get started on the right foot as they lost by 30 points at home last night to the Houston Rockets.
If Cousins comes to play on a nightly basis with the Pelicans, this can be one the best teams in the Western Conference. Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday must be salivating as he now has the opportunity to dish the ball to two of the league’s best big men. And regardless of what the Pelicans are able to for the remainder of this NBA season, they won’t have to beg small forwards and shooting guards to come to the Bayou and play as long as Cousins is all in on winning.
Davis has proven that he can get the Pelicans to the playoffs, while he and Cousins have each won a gold medal with the United States Men’s Basketball team during the Summer Olympics. And if everyone in New Orleans is all in, the combination of Cousins and Davis could be as legendary as Tim Duncan and David Robinson were when they teamed to win a pair of NBA Championships with the San Antonio Spurs.
But whatever the final verdict may be in New Orleans, if Cousins cannot make the playoffs now, I am not sure that he ever will.
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