For the first time in nearly two years, DeMarcus Cousins could be taking the floor in 2020-21. The Portland Trail Blazers should be among the teams in the low-risk, high-reward sweepstakes.
A mere two seasons ago, a sign-and-trade was on the table that would have given the Portland Trail Blazers a two-headed frontcourt monster consisting of Jusuf Nurkic and DeMarcus Cousins heading into the 2018-19 season. The deal, according to Chris Haynes, was nixed, mainly for one reason: conflicting interests upon agencies.
As soon as ink hit paper, Cousins would have officially been the big man on campus. Despite his torn Achilles, Cousins had run off four consecutive All-Star Games, and averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on a career-high 53.0 effective field goal percentage.
Two seasons later, Cousins’ career has become an example in Murphy’s Law; if it could go wrong, it has. He’s played in just 78 of a possible 235 games over the last three seasons, and despite consistently joining title favorites, is still listed as a 0-time NBA champion. Very little has remained constant since Cousins last stepped foot on a basketball court. But one of the things that has?
A potential connection with the Portland Trail Blazers.
If Cousins — or so he said at the time — thought the market for his services was skimpy in 2018, it’s likely as dry as a $2 steak in 2020. Given what we know about Cousins’ tendency to join winning cultures, would he be worth a glance for the Blazers?
The former two-time All-NBA Teamer seems to have long graduated beyond the media-driven diatribes about the petulance and character concerns from his time in Sacramento. And, he’s had a documented, positive rapport with Damian Lillard, calling him “one of the coolest dudes in the league,” and saying Lillard would be “one of the greatest players of all-time” in a larger market in March of 2019.
Remember those questions fans had about Hassan Whiteside, how much he had left to give, and if he would be an impediment to the Blazers’ brain trust? Lillard’s leadership is real and tangible. If there’s a situation in the Association where Cousins can ease himself in, this would most likely be the one.
A few of the points I mentioned about Cousins in an early September article resonate, though. In his heyday, Cousins had perfect attendance among the top-10 pick-and-roll roll men. On the flip side, he shot just 32-of-116 off the catch, despite playing in a most free-flowing offense of his career.
But, speaking in terms of lower-shelf, value free agents with something to prove, few will have as much upside as Cousins will, especially if the Portland Trail Blazers can’t bring Hassan Whiteside back on board.
2020-21 would mark the first time in a full decade that Cousins would have to buy into a reserve role. But, there’s tape to suggest that he’s more than capable of it. On the game’s biggest stage, Cousins contributed 13.0 and 5.5 rebounds on 59 percent shooting in his last two games for the Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals. And that was against arguably the NBA’s best defense (Toronto) in just 19.1 minutes of play.
Defensively, there would be a bit of a question mark. During that Finals series’ film, Cousins appeared a bit foul-happy. In that postseason, he committed 6.5 fouls per 36, which suggests he might have fouled a security guard, or even a referee on his way to disqualification. When engaged, though, he can be impressive.
Earlier this season, DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) demonstrated impressive help defense as we see in today's #NBABreakdown. He remains in an athletic stance and doesn't give up on the play until the @warriors complete the defensive possession successfully! #TeachingTuesday pic.twitter.com/ykv2k29C5T
— Jr. NBA (@jrnba) April 30, 2019
Putting him on a team with Nurkic and Collins, flat-out foul-committing machines, could be costly. Maybe it suggests him getting his footing back, or even something more technique-based. That being said, his holding defenders to 3.5 percentage points worse than average is inspiring.
He’s shown both the willingness and ability to play with other superstar talent, and defer until his name is called. He would be joining the next closest thing to Stephen Curry in Damian Lillard. In his time with Curry, the two had a +10.86 net rating in 482 minutes together.
Even if it’s nothing more than a Whiteside-like stopgap, DeMarcus Cousins is in need of an opportunity to show that he’s still one of the best bigs the game has to offer. The first step in that process has to be finding an ideal culture fit with comfort to boot.
Like everything else, it’s a mere spitball. But few places would offer as much as the Portland Trail Blazers could.