Cousins unlikely to join C’s family
DeMarcus Cousins is very good. DeMarcus Cousins is better than anybody on the Celtics.
Let’s just establish that right off the top, if only to say we understand why Greenhearts would pine for the Kings’ big man. And, as well, anyone could connect the dots and see that the Celts have both a critical need for someone of Cousins’ talent and the assets that might be able to interest the Sacramentites.
To see the 6-foot11 center pour in silky outside shots and go bruising with the large people inside is to see one of the NBA’s more unique talents. He went for 28 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in Sacramento’s 97-92 loss to the Celts — even warming the hearts of Bruins fans when he suffered a cut above his right eye with 7:08 left and waited until after the game to get his seven stitches.
“They were trying to give me stitches at the time,” said Cousins, “but I wanted to get back out there, so I just told them to glue it and we’ll deal with it later on.”
He came back to play the final 5:17, scoring nine points as the Kings cut an eight-point deficit to three before faltering at the end.
The Garden crowd even cheered him at the start and other intervals, their way, perhaps, of telling him he’s wanted.
And if it were just about Cousins’ talent, the Celtics would back up the truck and unload pretty much whatever the Kings wished. But the fact is the teams, as we reported last year and is still the case, haven’t had a serious discussion about a trade for the All-Star. That’s because a) the Celts — and every other potential suitor — are concerned about riding Cousins’ emotional roller coaster and b) the Kings have been asking a ruler’s ransom for their best player.
“I really don’t think they’re going to do anything with him this season,” said one Western Conference observer who’s kept an eye on the situation. “I think they could look at it again in the offseason, but I don’t see anything happening with him right now.”
According to another source, however, the 7-12 Kings should start seeking offers as soon as possible in hopes of getting an offer they cannot refuse.
Cousins has this year and next remaining on his contract at, by the new CBA’s standards, a bargain-ish $16.9 million and $18 million, respectively. The only reason Sacramento would even consider moving him is because of his behavioral concerns — and that’s the same reason it would be unlikely to get everything it would want in return.
People who have played with him and truly like him tell me he can try the patience of a saint. He came into last night’s game tied for the league lead in technical fouls with five, and while he did not add to that total here, several Celtics sources confirmed he was calling Marcus Smart all sorts of names when the teams converged to within shouting distance in the hallway at halftime.
At times his anger has left shrapnel wounds in his own dressing room, and at this pace, Cousins may eventually own the record for Most Coaches-career.
But some close to the Kings say he’s a great kid away from the game and is improved around it, not letting his anger with situations get the better of him with anywhere near the frequency exhibited prior.
The word out of the Kingsdom is that his experience with the U.S. Olympic team had a positive effect on his demeanor.
“I think it helped him to be around those guys, to see how guys of that caliber approach the game and just everything,” said one source.
That would seem to speak well to what a change of environment could do for Cousins, but he’s not going to get that kind of star-heavy situation anywhere in the NBA outside of maybe Golden State, Cleveland, San Antonio and the Clippers. Anywhere else, he would be the spiritual leader, and that hasn’t worked out all that well so far — certainly not as well as one would hope with a player of Cousins’ transcendent abilities.
So it comes down to how much the Celtics or anyone else will be willing to risk for his reward.
Said one league source of Cousins, “Yeah, he’s crazy, but so are most of the guys in this league. Is he a little extra crazy? Probably. But is he good enough to make you OK with that? That’s the question.”
So far, despite the desire of a large segment of their fans, the Celtics have, because of the circumstances, seen this as a non-starter.