The Pelicans are considering offering DeMarcus Cousins (left Achilles surgery) a two- or three-year deal at less than the max, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN. Cousins was inline for a $200-plus million payday this summer, before rupturing his Achilles. The Pels would lose him for nothing if they let him walk. However, they have been playing incredibly well with him sidelined, and there are only a handful of teams that have the cap space to offer a max contract. Thus, New Orleans has all the leverage. It will be one of the more interesting free agent situations this offseason. Do Anthony Davis and the Pelicans still need DeMarcus Cousins? [...] The Pelicans have broached internally the idea of offering Cousins a two- or three-year deal at less than the max, per sources familiar with the discussions. I would not expect that to go over well with Cousins' camp. But the Pelicans have the dual leverage of winning without Cousins and a tepid market for him. Only a half-dozen or so teams have max-level space this season, and most won't pursue Cousins at that level, sources say. He doesn't make sense for rebuilding teams. Even bad teams hungry for a big jump in wins next season -- say, the Suns -- can't be confident Cousins will be ready to produce at his usual All-Star level until 2019-20, anyway. (Still: Never underestimate Robert Sarver's July 1 exuberance in the name of short-term gain.) Some teams are afraid of his baggage. There may be only two suitors among the cap-room brigade: the Mavericks and the Lakers. And L.A.'s interest is unclear. If the Lakers whiff on LeBron and Paul George, they may want to keep their cap room open for 2019 and beyond -- meaning no fat long-term deal for Cousins. Dallas holds a lot of the cards for free agency this summer. They've seen up close with Wesley Matthews how hard it is for someone with a maniacal work ethic to come back from an Achilles tear. They may draft a big man. If they decide to go all-in on another target on July 1 -- Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, someone else -- Cousins may find himself without options among teams with cap space. The Pelicans and Cousins' camp could then work together to find sign-and-trade options around the rest of the league, but that's not easy, either. The Wizards are the most tempting if they bow out in the first round; Cousins and John Wall are friends, and the Wizards could build an offer around some combination of Otto Porter Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr., Marcin Gortat and a draft pick. But Washington's payroll is so bloated, they may not be allowed under league rules to obtain any player in a sign-and-trade. And given Wall's on-again, off-again knee issues, they may feel queasy committing a ton of money to Wall and Cousins. The Trail Blazers aren't trading C.J. McCollum for Cousins coming off an Achilles tear. The Clippers and Raptors are somewhat interesting possibilities in theory -- LA pending DeAndre Jordan's status, Toronto if they flame out now -- but remote ones in reality. A new coach and a blockbuster trade feels like too much change at once for the Bucks. Hassan Whiteside's trade value has fallen so low, the Pelicans may not be interested in any sort of swap. (Whether Miami would be, even with Cousins' injury, is a fascinating question.) There is always -- always -- some unexpected scenario out there. But the dream trade might not exist in July. For it to emerge later, Cousins may have to return and play well. And if Cousins returns and plays well, the Pelicans may be less inclined to trade him. If the Pelicans have to choose between breaking the bank for Cousins over many years and letting him go, they would be right to let him go. They have been that good without him. The alternate path is workable enough. But they may not face that choice. The third year could become the inflection point in a bidding war between New Orleans and Dallas, or some unknown team. Is anyone willing to fully guarantee it? If not, is one team willing to guarantee more than the other? Does one team insist on the third year being a team option? A two-year deal is over before you know it. It might be better than a one-year deal, since players coming off severe injuries are often more productive two years out. It would set things up so that deals for both Davis and Cousins expire at the same time -- making it easier to transition into tank mode if things somehow go haywire. That third year would make most teams think harder. But it's possible circumstances have aligned for New Orleans to retain Cousins on a shorter deal they could trade if they want to reshape their roster around Davis. It takes only one suitor to drive the bidding higher, and foist uncomfortable decisions on New Orleans. Such a team might venture into four- or five-year territory on a sub-max salary in the range of $20-25 million per season, and perhaps even build in injury-related protections similar to those in Joel Embiid's new extension. Even retaining Cousins at that price takes New Orleans right up against the projected tax. They might have to sacrifice yet another draft pick to dump money and slip under it. These are hard choices. No one can know with any certainty how Cousins will perform two, three and four seasons from now. But the closer the bidding gets to max money and max years, the more comfortable the Pelicans should be walking away. There is a line in the sand somewhere -- maybe even before any fully guaranteed four-year deal in a realistic salary range. New Orleans has to hope the bidding doesn't get so frothy, and that they can thread a vary narrow needle.
Cousins is an exception to the rule: It would actually be better to let him go for nothing than to extend him. Mirotic has proven how much better everyone else on the team plays when Mr. Mood Swing is replaced by an elite perimeter shooting big. Not only that, the whole demeanor of the team is different now. Mirotic should be their #1 priority this summer, not Cousins. Seems obvious to me.
I think someone will max for 4 years Cousins anyway, but at the same time i think the Pelicans shouldn't, i'm a fan of Boogie's talent but i don't see him as a great fit there, they might be better with another player in his place or at the 3 even if less talented, and assuming that's even possible, i don't have the exact idea of their cap situation right now. On a side note, if the Pelicans would be able to get Porter, Gortat and a pick for Boogie eh, i think that would be a great trade for them tbh. Gortat/Davis Davis/Mirotic Porter/Miller Holiday/Moore Rondo/Clark
Simmons discussed this the other day, he described it well, something to the effect of Cousins is someone you have to monitor the whole game, and who often lets his emotions get the better of him. Which in turns takes him out of the game, barking at refs, getting in his own head etc. and that all trickles down to the whole team. Without him they've (AD obviously) have blossomed into something great and far better than they were with Boogie out there.
Porter himself has more value than Cousins - 80% recovery? Capela has more value than Cousins -80% recovery?
It seems a simple team construction equation in the NBA of today. Don't need him. Would make the team worse now. How to best get value for him, if at all possible is the only question.
Eh, not sure, i like Porter and Capela but the first is still overpaid, the second we'll see hom much money will get, but both are pound for pound not as good as Boogie, Gortat will expire and is probably not resigning there anyway due the beef with Wall so...
I am sorry to say this, but Cousins is damaged goods. Cousins had a ruptured achilles. None has returned from an achilles rupture to anywhere close to the same level that they played at before the injury. It is highly unlikely that he will be anything more than a role player with limited minutes. I don't think any smart GM in the NBA would offer him more than a one year MLE. There may be a team that is desperate, but a one year MLE is very fair until Boogie can prove he is worth more.
The Pels need to find guys that support Davis better. Cousins simply doesn't have a winning attitude. He has a ton of passion, but passion is a liability if you can't properly channel it.
It’s a sunk cost IMO. They need to avoid the fallacy by trying to spend more to build around a star who arrived two decades too late.
2 bigs is already iffy. 2 bigs when one of them has attitude problems is real iffy. 2 bigs when the one with the attitude problem has a torn achilles is super iffy. 2 bigs when the one with the attitude problem and torn achilles needs a super-max contract is a no go. 2 big when you just swept the F out of a team without the one of them with the attitude problem and the torn achilles and who needs a super-max contract. gtfoh. now if you dupe someone into trading for him, then sure. but fit this style with davis as the man.
All I know is that they broke one of the Rockets win streaks in that game he went down. It seemed like they were clicking at the right moment. At worst, they could Blake Griffin him into some Eastern wasteland
They were pretty good when Cousins was healthy and seemed to be progressing towards where they are now. With Cousins and AD they are a matchup nightmare for both the Rockets and the Warriors in the playoffs. I don't see how Mirotic being a positive makes Boogie a negative. What would the team look like with Boogie and Mirotic? The biggest difference is playoff Rondo and Jrue stepping up, I don't see how Boogie would prevent these guys from playing the way they've been playing. Rondo is miraculously nailing key 3's, Jrue is playing great defense Boogie has nothing to do with this. With that said, the position may be redundant and doing a S&T with boogie would probably be best. I just don't agree that Boogie has negative value and the team is better off letting him walk (no pun intended)
DeMarcus Cousins unfollows Pelicans on Instagram, perhaps signaling the end of his time in New Orleans