DeMarcus Cousins was, at least early in his tenure with the Houston Rockets, one of the worst players in the NBA. Through 11 games, he scored 6.1 points on 26.3 percent shooting. But at the end of January, a look at the former All-Star began to shine. In his last 14 games, he was shooting at 44.4 percent at 44.6 percent, and in his last outing as a Rocket, he gave Houston 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Now, the big man was relinquished by Houston, which allows the former All-Star to catch up with another team, possibly a competitor.
He is still a very deficient defensive player with extremely limited mobility. His shot selection is the least questionable, and he’s one of the NBA’s biggest injury risks. His superstar upside down, in all probability, is gone. But in a very specific role with the right teammates, Cousins can still be a moderately productive NBA player, and moderately productive NBA players rarely hit the market in February. Cousins may not have a star upside down, but its upside relative to the available alternatives is enormous. There will be interest in Cousins now that he is available, and these five teams are the most logical destination.
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The Lakers took the Cousins carousel turn last season, and by all accounts, it was a pretty positive experience. Although he never played for Los Angeles thanks to the torn ACL that kept him out all season, he was a good soldier on the sidelines, and when he was turned down in February to make room for buyout additions, there allegedly a mutual interest a return. The Ringer is Kevin O’Connor reports that the Lakers are still interested in such a reunion.
In the short term, this is not particularly surprising. The Lakers are not that big with Anthony Davis, and even when he returned, the two found success in New Orleans and enjoyed playing with each other so much that Davis Cousins recruited first in 2019 in Los Angeles. has.
The relevant question here is how Frank Vogel Cousins would fit into the rotation. He simply can not exist defensively with Marc Gasol. The two are too slow to share the floor. A Montrezl Harrell fit is also not ideal. Any team that Cousins signs will do it for the offensive upside down, but according to Synergy Sports, Harrell is in the 98th percentile in overall offensive efficiency. Cousins can’t improve on that. Harrell has blossomed this season as a one-to-one scorer, scoring an impressive 1.2 points per possession. Asking him to give up Cousins reduces his value, especially since he’s not behind the bow. The defense is also comfortable to drop from Cousins, which further hinders Harrell in the paint, and Harrell’s own defensive constraints will further weaken the clutch as a whole.
Davis is the only Laker equipped to cover Cousins’ shortcomings, and he’s out for the time being. Even when he returns, there just aren’t that many center minutes to go, especially not if Davis starts playing more center minutes in the post-season. The Lakers can split the position between Cousins, Gasol and Harrell, but how happy any of them will be with the arrangement remains to be seen.
Rob Pelinka can address this concern in the trading market, although it also does not seem too likely. Both Gasol and Harrell made remuneration for the Lakers. Harrell is represented by Klutch Sports, which also represents LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He left money on the table because he believed he would be a Laker to improve his value in the 2021 free agency. Would Klutch’s anger over Harrell betray be really worth adding Cousins? Gasol is Laker royalty. His brother, Pau, is a team legend who has already left on a bad footing. The Buss family would probably not want to alienate him further by dealing with his brother after entering into an extremely team-friendly deal in the off-season.
If Cousins were to join them, Vogel would have to juggle another big name in an already crowded rotation. He did it successfully last season, and leBron James teams never added high risk and high rewards, but adding Cousins would not be as simple as putting another great man in a team to put hurt.
Speaking of teams being hurt for size, the Blazers are essentially pretending that the position of the rugby center does not exist. Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins and Harry Giles all suffered injuries, and the Blazers turned to an extremely small ball just to get it right when Enes Kanter went to the bench. It creates some of the most shocking stylistic contrasts in basketball. Kanter cannot defend outside the paint. Robert Covington offers more edge protection than a player of his size should, but he’s at his best to walk around the perimeter looking for steals and deviations. The Blazers are trying to get away from the kind of decline in which Kanter specializes. It has serious limitations in the playoffs. But injuries have forced their hand so they can just as well embrace it for the time being.
Terry Stotts successfully hid Kanter’s defensive errors in the regular season, so in theory he could do the same for Cousins. Portland interested in Cousins in 2018 before signing with the Warriors, and as we saw with Carmelo Anthony, the Blazers are quite willing to pick up a former target well after the rest of the league lost interest. Anthony’s redemption tour was largely a success. Maybe the Blazers could have the same effect on Cousins.
Only one big man in Toronto’s rankings has a positive net rating this season. When Chris Boucher is on the floor, the Raptors play well. If Aron Baynes or Alex Len are on the floor, they do not. Toronto is already expanding the downtown market for an upgrade with Andre Drummond allegedly in their sights. Cousins would definitely be a cheaper option, and the offensive versatility they tend to prefer in their big men.
The question here would be defense. Toronto is not exactly known for the conservative schemes on which a player is as physically restricted as Cousins for confidence. They switch over. They flash. They play aggressive zones that are just as effective as their slowest rotation. It would almost certainly be Cousins. Nick Nurse is as adaptable as any coach in basketball. If a coach can come up with a defense that can cover his weaknesses without compromising the strengths of the rest of Toronto, it’s him.
But the whole identity of Toronto over the past few seasons is based on every rotating member defending and shooting. They had to compromise a bit this season, but Cousins would take it to a new level. Desperate times may have called for desperate action a few weeks ago, but with the Raptors 8-3 in their last 11 games, they can afford to be a little more picky than they would have been earlier in the season.
Golden State Warriors
In pure basketball terms, a return to the Warriors probably makes more sense to Cousins than rejoining the Lakers. Golden State’s offense falls off a cliff every time Stephen Curry goes to the bank. With him, they score 113 points per 100 possessions. Without him? Only 100.6. They made up for it with star bank defense, but much of it is based on unsustainable shooting luck. Opponents hit 38 percent of their 3s with Curry on the floor and 34.7 percent without him. If any of you think it could be Curry’s fault, remember that his minutes are largely linked to Draymond Green’s.
Eventually, opponents will fall back against Golden State’s bench, and when it does, they can probably succeed a little more offensively. Cousins could provide it. He knows the system, and his demise could encourage ball-free movement without Curry and Draymond.
But if Golden State really wanted to retain Cousins in 2019, it probably could. After the D’Angelo Russell report, there were worrying concerns, but Cousins could fit in if they let Kevon Looney go. However, they did not, and when Looney returns from injury, there is no reason to believe Steve Kerr will take him out of the turn. The same goes for James Wiseman. Its development is too important for the long-term prospects of the organization to be sacrificed for Cousins minutes. Occasionally throws a little small ball, which has generally worked well for Golden State this season, and the Warriors may not have enough minutes to satisfy Cousins now.
There is going to be speculation about Brooklyn as a destination for Cousins, given his relationship with Kevin Durant and their lack of size, but in pure basketball terms it does not make sense. Small ball setups work with Jeff Green as the nominal center. Brooklyn has more than enough firepower as it is. Can they really afford another defensive liability? Especially one who doesn’t really get along with James Harden? Probably not. If Cousins is on his way to the big apple, the Knicks are the most likely landing spot.
They are, after all, without starting center Mitchell Robinson, and their offense in 24th place needed another stir even before his injury. Cousins has a relatively similar skill to Julius Randle, the leading creator of New York, and can provide some systematic consistency when going to the bank. There are not many centers that can handle the ball, pass and shoot like Randle, but if his last handful of games are an indication, Cousins might be close in a few minutes. While Tom Thibodeau has licensed his more athletic centers to defend the perimeter, the Knicks are not a particularly fickle defense. Cousins could shackle themselves to the brink and survive in New York.
There is also the Kentucky connection to consider. The Knicks have four former Wildcats in the rankings, as well as assistant coach Kenny Payne. This will probably have to be a short-term addition. When Robinson returns, there will be no minutes for him, Noel and Cousins. But in the meantime? Cousins make sense as a Knick.