DeMarcus Cousins Destinations

On February 20^th, it was announced that the Houston Rockets and DeMarcus Cousins would part ways in order to go younger in their front court.  In particular, Christian Wood is expected to return from his ankle injury soon, which would allow him more playing time.  While initially implied that they would waive him, they guaranteed his contract, likely to try to find a trade partner.  This post will discuss the destinations that would either make sense for him or have been rumored to be trying for him.

The teams that I think are most likely are teams that could use a center.  While he has been a mixed bag this year on both ends, there is still value.  He has struggled defensively in the pick and roll, but has been a plus defender and has defended bigs well.  On the other end, he has his worst career numbers per 36 minutes in most offensive numbers, but has been solid from shooting behind the arc and has been a solid playmaker for a big man.  While I expect he will be a backup center in most places, there are some places he could be a de facto starter in the right role.

 

Portland Trailblazers

Jusuf Nurkic is out for at least a few more weeks, Harry Giles is day-to-day, and Zach Collins is out indefinitely, which leaves Enes Kanter.  Until Nurkic gets back, Cousins can play minutes defensively that would really help the team.  He is also a good rebounder, which would help him thrive alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum (when he returns from injury)

 

Toronto Raptors

While the Raptors have been playing well lately, Aron Baynes has struggled mightily this season.  While Chris Boucher has thrived off the bench, maybe Cousins could be an upgrade on both ends.  Even if he is a clunky fit initially offensively, he could probably play a role similar to that of Marc Gasol due to his combination of playmaking and shooting, but he can also drive.  His defense will be an instant upgrade.

 

Golden State Warriors

This fit largely depends on a few things:  the health of James Wiseman, the health of Kevin Looney, how they think the fit would be with this lineup, how his time the previous time ended (seemed like it went fine outside of his injuries).  That said, there is a situation where the answers to each of these make Cousins the right player for them; he could fit starting or off the bench.

 

Brooklyn Nets

I think Cousins could be a massive upgrade off the bench behind DeAndre Jordan.  If Jeff Green is out for a substantial amount of time, he could be a good replacement given how complete his game is.  That said, he has played well defensively for Houston so far, which would make him a strong fit.

 

San Antonio Spurs

Now that LaMarcus Aldridge is out with no timetable for his return, Jakob Poeltl has been a bit underwhelming from the offensive end, and Trey Lyles has been largely atrocious, Cousins might fit as a starter or bench player.  He’s not quite the shooter Aldridge is but would probably fit that roll best while also acting as a third ball handling option behind DeMar DeRozan and Dejounte Murray.

 

Los Angeles Lakers

I’m not entirely sure the mindset of going after him, but it has been reported by several that Cousins is one of the many players the Lakers are monitoring.  While defensively he might be a downgrade from Marc Gasol, he would be a massive upgrade.  Then again, Gasol seems to fit enough defensively and Montrezl Harrell has thrived, so I’m not exactly sure of the mindset.  Maybe while Anthony Davis is out?

 

Washington Wizards

While most people are aware that this season is a lost cause for Washington (unless their play drastically changes), they aren’t making Bradley Beal available yet so they might not be aware of this fact.  With starting center Thomas Bryant out for the year, the trio of Robin Lopez, Mo Wagner, and Alex Len is…let’s just say Cousins would be a massive upgrade at both ends of the floor.

 

Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte is in an interesting place since starting center Cody Zeller has frequently been cited in trade our buyout rumors, but they are still competing.  It would help 6’7 end-of-game center P.J. Washington to have Cousins during the game.  He would also be an upgrade starting over Zeller and, if Zeller is moved, would help backup center Bismack Biyombo focus on defense even more.

 

Miami Heat

DeMarcus Cousins is not what this team needs; a stretch-4 or switchable defensive wing is more valuable (think Jae Crowder), but the biggest question I have is if DeMarcus Cousins at the 5 and Bam Adebayo at the 4 is better than Adebayo at the 4 and Kelly Olynyk at the 5.  Olynyk has struggled from deep so far (33.1%), but I don’t think Cousins is the cleanest fit.

 

Los Angeles Clippers

I’ve heard the Clippers lightly rumored, but I don’t get it.  I trust Serge Ibaka and Ivica Zubac, but maybe they think Cousins is a better fit than Zubac is (it wouldn’t surprise me if they do since he’s not a flashy name).  That said, I think their best reason to get him would be so the Lakers don’t get him.

 

New York Knicks

I’ve heard a couple rumors about the Knicks, but it doesn’t make sense given their personnel.  The only way they try for DeMarcus Cousins is if they know something about Mitchell Robinson or Nerlens Noel that I don’t.

 

Bonus:  Minnesota Timberwolves firing Ryan Saunders

On February 21^st, the Minnesota Timberwolves fired Ryan Saunders after a loss to the New York Knicks resulted in them starting 7-24.  There was some speculation that his job was on the line after his struggled, but I think the main reasons he got fired when he did was that they lost to former Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau and because there was reportedly tension between D’Angelo Russell and Saunders.  While I agree that he should have been fired (I expect the only reason they kept him for as long as they did was because he is the son of late great Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders), the blame for the Timberwolves struggles do not start with him; in particular, the Timberwolves have created an environment that does not care about winning and is more focused on keeping Karl-Anthony Towns happy.

After they made the playoffs in 2018, the Timberwolves traded Jimmy Butler in the beginning of the following season.  To their credit, Towns and Andrew Wiggins did not respond well to Butler’s confrontational approach and they likely wouldn’t have been able to get anybody that would replace the impact Butler had on winning.  However, the fact that they didn’t trade him during the offseason was a mess on it’s own (that’s another can of worms I’m not going to get into), and caused them to give up the player that willed them into the playoffs for a return that wouldn’t (even though I do like Dario Saric and Robert Covington in the right situation who was in the return but have since been traded away).  After that, they really needed a player who could lead the team and help their young stars win; while Towns had success at Kentucky and has put up monster numbers, it’s a different beast to win in the NBA and the right environment and players are needed.  Ultimately, they traded Wiggins in the trade to get Russell back and Wiggins has rediscovered his confidence and is now playing like he knows what it takes to contribute to a playoff team as the second option under the guidance of players like Steph Curry and Draymond Green.  The Timberwolves resorted to Ricky Rubio and…well guys who haven’t had large roles on winning basketball teams.

By acquiring Russell, they made sure that they got Towns’ best friend but ignored the impact of winning.  In the draft, it was reported that one reason they chose rookie Anthony Edwards with the first pick in the draft was because they didn’t want to take someone who played the same position as either Towns or Russell (even though James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball have played much better than Edwards has so far).  Even the arguments between Saunders and Russell make sense given how Russell has been this year:  he has shown immaturity (being late for a Covid-19 test), poor shot selection (most of his shots are from 2 where he is below league average, many from midrange where he has a lower percentage than he does from 3), and is yet again completely incompetent defensively and appears to be making no effort to improve; however, angry Russell could mean angry Towns.  I do not want to disparage Towns with this; I have criticized him much before, but he has handled this season better than I could imagine given contracting Covid, getting injured, the team playing terrible, and now this fiasco.  What I am criticizing is being so scared to lose their star player that they forget that not making any efforts to win will likely scare him away after his contract ends anyways.

I also want to specify that I believe that there is a certain amount of blame to be placed on Saunders.  One thing he was praised for as an assistant coach was his ability to help develop young players, but as a head coach we saw Jarret Culver forget how to shoot (and at times even play basketball), Josh Okogie’s offense be as reliable as a coin flip, Towns still struggle with pick-and-rolls, and Russell clash before changing his bad habits.  Despite that, I have been impressed with how he handled Naz Reid and Jared Vanderbilt, two less heralded 21-year-olds who have emerged as plus-defenders.  He struggled with the team’s offense, but to his credit Towns did miss a bunch of time.  While I thought he should have been fired previously, I don’t think winning is possible with the current roster and management thinking otherwise is delusional and should not have that job.

After firing Saunders, they generated more controversy with their coaching search, if it could be even called that.  Shortly after the firing was announced, Chris Finch, an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors, was hired as the new head coach.  The fact that the team opted to hire somebody outside the organization without hiring anybody because team president Gersson Rosas has a relationship with them is the time of process that the NBA has moved to avoid.  This is the type of move that even the Coaches Association criticized due to the process of the hiring.  The fact that the white Finch was hired while the beloved associate coach David Vanterpool, who is black, wasn’t even interviewed was not lost on many.  The issue isn’t who they passed on, but the fact that they didn’t even have a process outside of naming a friend.

Ultimately, I am glad for Vanterpool that he did not get the job as we have reached the point where this is the worst of the 30 coaching jobs.  While Finch has shown success overseas and in the G-League, I don’t think he will be successful because nobody will be in the current structure.  It is a small market team that has prioritized keeping their star happy over winning.  There will be so long before Towns wants to leave because he realizes he can’t win there because the organization is dysfunctional, which will cause ticket sales and revenue to bottom out.  In other words, they are effectively placing more of a focus on making their star happy in the short term than profits, which is the point of the business.  The team has created a beast bigger than they can tame and should be recognized as the team that has surpassed the Knicks as the laughingstock in the league.