DeMarcus Cousins was, at least early in his tenure with the Houston Rockets, one of the worst players in the NBA. In 11 games, he averaged 6.1 points on 26.3 percent shooting. But in late January, a glimpse of the former All-Star began to shine through. In his last 14 games, he has scored up to 12.4 points on 44.6 percent shooting, and in his last appearance as Rocket, he gave Houston 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Now, the big man has been apart from Houston, allowing the former All-Star to join another team, possibly a contender.
He is still a very deficient defensive player with extremely limited mobility. His shot roster is questionable to say the least, and he’s one of the NBA’s biggest injury risks. His upside superstar has in all probability disappeared. But in a very specific type of role with the right teammates, Cousins can still be a fairly prolific NBA player, and fairly prolific NBA players rarely hit the market in February. Cousins may not have an advantage, but its advantage over the available alternatives is huge. Now that he’s available, there will be interest in Cousins, and these five teams are the most logical destinations.
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It was the Lakers’ turn in the Cousins carousel last season, and in all likelihood it was a fairly positive experience. Although he never played for Los Angeles thanks to the ripped ACL that kept him out all season, he was a good soldier on the sidelines, and when he was disbanded in February to make way for buyout additions, there was reportedly mutual interest in a return. Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer reports that the Lakers are now still interested in such a reunion.
This is not surprising in the short term. The Lakers are small in size with Anthony Davis out, and even when he returned, the two found success together in New Orleans and enjoyed playing with each other so much that Davis recruited Cousins to Los Angeles in the first place in 2019.
The pertinent question here is how Frank Vogel Cousins would fit into the rotation. He simply cannot coexist with Marc Gasol defensively. The two are too slow to share the floor. A Montrezl Harrell fit isn’t ideal either. Any team contracting Cousins would do so for the offensive advantage, but according to Synergy Sports, Harrell is in the 98th percentile in terms of overall offensive efficiency. Cousins can’t improve on that. Harrell has become a one-on-one scorer this season, scoring an impressive 1.2 points per possession individually. Asking him to give up belongings for Cousins minimizes his worth, especially since he’s not a threat from behind the arch. The defense is also perfectly comfortable to slide down from Cousins, hindering Harrell further into the paint, and Harrell’s own defensive limitations would further weaken the clutch as a whole.
Davis is the only Laker equipped to cover Cousins’ shortcomings, and he’s out for now. Even when he returns, there just aren’t that many center minutes to go, especially when Davis starts playing more center minutes in the postseason. The Lakers could divide the position among Cousins, Gasol, and Harrell, but how happy either would be with that arrangement remains to be seen.
Rob Pelinka could address these concerns in the trading market, although that doesn’t seem overly likely either. Both Gasol and Harrell took pay cuts to play for the Lakers. Harrell is represented by Klutch Sports, who also represents LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He left money on the table because he believed being a Laker would help improve his worth in 2021. Would arousing Klutch’s anger at betraying Harrell really be worth adding Cousins? Gasol is Laker’s royalty. His brother, Pau, is a team legend who already left on bad terms. The Buss family would probably prefer not to alienate him further by treating his brother after he struck an extremely team-friendly deal in the off-season.
If Cousins joined them, Vogel would have to juggle another big name in an already busy rotation. He did so successfully last season, and LeBron James-led teams never shy away from high-risk additions with high rewards, but adding Cousins wouldn’t be as easy as putting another big man on a team that hurts because of the size.
Speaking of teams hurting for size, the Blazers are essentially pretending that the backup center position doesn’t exist. Miss Nurkic, Zach Collins and Harry Giles have all been injured, and the Blazers have switched to an extremely small ball to make ends meet when Enes Kanter goes to the couch. It creates some of the most shocking stylistic contrasts in basketball. Kanter cannot defend himself outside of the paint. Robert Covington offers more rim protection than a player his height should, but he is at his best roaming the perimeter chasing theft and deflection. The Blazers are trying to get away from the kind of drop coverage that Kanter specializes in. It comes with serious limitations in the playoffs. But injuries have forced their hand, so they might as well hug it for now.
Terry Stotts has successfully concealed Kanter’s defensive shortcomings in the regular season, so in theory he could do the same for Cousins. Portland was interested in Cousins in 2018 before signing with the Warriors, and as we saw with Carmelo Anthony, the Blazers are perfectly prepared to take out a former target long after the rest of the league has lost interest. Anthony’s redemption tour has been a success for the most part. Perhaps the Blazers can have the same effect on cousins.
Only one big man on Toronto’s roster has a positive net rating this season. When Chris Boucher is on the ground, the Raptors play well. If Aron Baynes or Alex Len are on the floor, they don’t. Toronto is already exploring the downtown market for an upgrade with Andre Drummond reportedly in the crosshairs. Cousins would definitely be a cheaper option, and one that would bring the attacking versatility they prefer to their big men.
The question here would be defense. Toronto isn’t exactly known for the conservative schemes that a player as physically constrained as Cousins relies on to survive. They switch. They flash. They play aggressive zones that are only as effective as their slowest rotation. That would almost certainly be Cousins. Nick Nurse is as flexible as any coach in basketball. If a coach can come up with a defense capable of covering his weaknesses without compromising the strengths of the rest of Toronto’s squad, it is he.
But Toronto’s entire identity over the past few seasons is based on every member of their rotation, both defense and shooting. They’ve had to compromise a bit this season out of necessity, but Cousins would take that to a new level. Desperate times may have called for desperate measures a few weeks ago, but with the Raptors 8-3 in their past 11 games, they can afford to be a little more picky than earlier in the season.
Golden State Warriors
In pure basketball terms, a return to the Warriors probably makes more sense for Cousins than joining the Lakers again. The Golden State 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 that with an excellent bank defense, but much of it is based on unsustainable shooting luck. Opponents hit 38 percent of the three of them with Curry and 34.7 percent without him. If any part of you think this is Curry’s fault, remember that his minutes are largely tied to Draymond Green’s.
Eventually, opponents will fall back to the average against the Golden State bench, and when that time comes, they could probably use a bit more offense. Cousins could take care of it. He knows the system, and his passing could encourage off-ball moves that were severely lacking without Curry and Draymond.
But if Golden State really wanted to keep Cousins in 2019, it probably could have happened. There were serious headaches after D’Angelo Russell’s sign-and-trade, but Cousins could have passed if they had let Kevon Looney go. But they didn’t, and if Looney returns from injury, there’s no reason to believe Steve Kerr will take him out of rotation. The same goes for James Wiseman. His development is too important to the long-term vision of the organization to be sacrificed for Cousins’ minutes. Throw in a splash of small ball every now and then, which has generally worked well for Golden State this season, and the Warriors may not have enough minutes now to satisfy Cousins.
There will be some 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 makes no sense. Small-ball setups with Jeff Green as the nominal center operating. Brooklyn already has plenty of firepower. Can they really afford defensive liability? Especially one who can’t quite get along with James Harden? Probably not. If Cousins is heading for the big apple, the Knicks are the most likely landing site.
They’re without starting center Mitchell Robinson, after all, and their No. 24 ranked offense needed a shock even before his injury. Cousins has relatively similar skills to Julius Randle, New York’s foremost maker of photos, and could provide some systemic consistency when going to the bank. Not many centers can handle, pass and shoot the ball like Randle does, but if his last handful of matches are any indication, Cousins might be able to get close in a matter of minutes. While Tom Thibodeau has licensed more athletic centers to defend the perimeter, the Knicks are not a particularly confused defense. Cousins were able to captivate themselves on the edge and survive in New York.
There is also the Kentucky connection to consider. The Knicks have four former Wildcats on the roster, as well as assistant coach Kenny Payne. This should probably be a short term addition. When Robinson returns, there will be no more minutes for him, Noel and Cousins. But in the meantime? Cousins makes sense as a Knick.