DeMarcus Cousins: An Unsung Warrior After Pelicans Departure

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NBA

DeMarcus Cousins: An Unsung Warrior After Pelicans Departure

There are a lot of grumblings from many NBA players and fans. They would seem to believe that DeMarcus Cousins joining the Golden State Warriors was a cowardly act. Cousins announced his decision right after LeBron James signed with the Lakers. The move was unexpected and not favored by many people.

NBA players and fans didn’t take Cousins’ decision favorably. Many have stated that the decision has ruined the NBA and the season is over before it has even started. This was a shocking decision by the big man. Nobody expected the Warriors to add another All-Star to their star filled roster. The news rocked the NBA league and fan base and left confusion and anger in its wake.

 

DeMarcus Cousins Gets No Love

The Sacramento Kings traded 3x All-Star Cousins to the Pelicans on February 20, 2017. The trade was announced during a televised Cousins interview during an All-Star break. The Kings gave away the talented two-way player for virtually nothing. The Pelicans received talented Cousins, who would help Anthony Davis win games.

The Kings received a 2017 first-round draft pick and not one single franchise player. This was an epic failure from the Kings franchise. It will be a long time coming that they acquire another talented player like Cousins. It caused a rift among Kings’ Fans who liked and disliked the trade. Sacramento has not recovered by the drastic and nonsensical trade of Cousins.

 

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive had stated that he did not want to trade Cousins. This came prior to Cousins being traded by the Kings. The Kings franchise had insisted that they would build up their roster around the young All-Star. Cousins is one of the best two-way bigs in the league, yet what happened for the sudden decision to trade him?

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding his immaturity and uncontrollable behavior. He needed to learn to control his immature attitude on the floor. When healthy, he’s a dominant big man who’s not afraid to show his emotions.

A strong probability why the Kings would trade him during his prime? There’s not a logical explanation why the Kings franchise would have a sudden change of heart. Ultimately, they no longer desired to keep Cousins after many empty promises.

 

DeMarcus Cousins’ Road To Recovery: Warriors Can Help Him Win And Repair Image

Cousins hasn’t openly discussed his reason to leave New Orleans. He suffered a severe Achilles injury this past January at the closing seconds of a home victory against the Houston Rockets. It ended his season. Cousins helped get the Pelicans to the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

He had surgery and has gone through rehabilitation and is getting better every day, He’s walking around like he had not suffered a diabolical injury. Soon after, Cousins quit following the Pelicans on Instagram and Twitter. Also, tweeting discord with Anthony Davis without alluding to the cause.

Cousins has not had an easy time during his NBA career. He somehow finds a way to be successful despite everything. In doing so, he has more than proven his Warrior mentality and continues to rise. He deserves to be on a roster that can make him better.

The Warriors are the team to impact Cousins’ career in a positive way. He can take his time to fully recover before the playoffs. He can learn Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s system and build a solid relationship with his new teammates.

Did the Cousins signing give the Warriors an unfair edge? It really doesn’t matter, as the Warriors roster was already the heavy favorite to win it all again next season without him. They also can help Cousins’ image, which he’s known as a very good player but not a leader. Being in their winning environment should light a fire in him, as he looks to regain his form to be elite once again.