DeMarcus Cousins shocked the world when he signed with Golden State, but how will his college family respond?
New Orleans Pelicans. Los Angeles Lakers. Phoenix Suns. All of these teams have former Kentucky Wildcats in key positions. All of these teams were considered possible landing spots for Cousins. However, he chose none of these teams. In fact, he took a potential pay cut and signed with one of the few teams that didn’t have a Kentucky player on the roster. Although this might not seem like a big deal, will it hurt him in free agency next year?
First, we have to know what Cousins’ options were at the time. The truth is, we don’t really know which offers were on the table for Cousins to choose from. In fact, reports were coming out that he only had zero to one official offers on the table. However, that’s not the point. If he had to go out and search for an offer, he still had plenty of options. He could have taken a similar deal from the Pelicans, assuming they were still interested.
Another option could be trying to make a deal work with the Lakers and teamed up with Rajon Rondo. He could have worked to make a one-year deal with Phoenix in hopes of using some of their cap space to sell tickets. Honestly, he could have potentially called any team with an adequate mid-level exception. The decision not to do this raises a lot of questions for the fans.
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Why did he leave?
For a man with character issues, leaving a teammate who wore your jersey in the All-Star Game seems like a bad decision. Adding the fact that you are both from the same college makes matters worse. However, the departure was partially out of his hands. He could have probably resigned before the injury, but he had every right to test his options in free agency. He ultimately couldn’t return to the Pelicans after they signed Julius Randle. Although it gives Cousins a bad look, there’s not much more he could have done to work with Davis after his injury.
Why the Warriors?
It doesn’t make much sense to pick a team based on college ties, but one would figure they at least have some say in the process. I mean, Gordon Hayward joined forces with his former college coach when he moved to Boston. That doesn’t really apply when there are extenuating circumstances, and Boogie’s injury applies. He needed a place where he could rehab at his own pace, feel no pressure to play too early, and ease his way into the rotation. At the same time, a little character improvement could go a long way to finding his next deal. Golden State fills all these needs more than any other team with a former Wildcat. He’s also expected to win a ring by doing this, so that helps sweeten the pot.
Do college ties really matter?
In most cases, I would say no. However, Kentucky prides itself on producing NBA talent. Few NBA players have won a title at Kentucky, but that’s not to say that they can’t make star NBA players. When there is so much success at the second level, there becomes a family vibe that other programs can’t produce. Even if players were not at UK at the same time, they went through the same process. That causes comradery through a program, and that can help them as potential teammates.
What does this mean for next year?
In a best-case scenario, Boogie comes back to full health, his character issues are resolved, and most of the market is at his fingertips. In reality, I would assume some teams to still be against signing him. Although Anthony Davis is an ultimate team player, I would assume the Pelicans would not want to try mending that fence. He could potentially join a new team with Rajon Rondo, but why do it next year if they wouldn’t do it this year?
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Although he might not have completely burned bridges in Kentucky, Cousins definitely hurt his odds with some teams due to his actions against former Wildcats.