Hot Take: The Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks And Washington Wizards Are Among Three Of The Five Teams That Need To Sign DeMarcus Cousins This Off-Season! Has Cousins Lost All Of His Value?

With the NBA season looking to make a return, there are plenty of NBA players that still need to be assigned to a team, including former All-Star, DeMarcus Cousins. Before he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, his last appearance was in the NBA finals, where he arguably had his greatest chance of winning an NBA title. Unfortunately, Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Warriors in six games and ended the dynasty that controlled the entire league for the last five seasons. Cousins lost his opportunity to win his first championship, but he also lost his credibility in the NBA as he struggled to find a team to represent. At the start of the 2019-20 season, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to take a risk and sign the former All-Star but was quickly removed from the team as his injuries started to haunt him again. However, with COVID-19, many players such as, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, John Wall, Pascal Siakam, Kemba Walker, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, and Zion Williamson who were either injured or was getting limited playing time would receive plenty of months to rest or overcome their injuries. Before quarantine occurred, DeMarcus Cousins was rumoured to return before the NBA playoffs as he was slowly starting to get back into his old self. However, with Cousins, he is fully rested and ready to contribute to an organization where he can be impactful. These are the five teams that should heavily consider signing DeMarcus Cousins as these teams either need a center desperately or are teams that need depth in their roster. 

1. Boston Celtics

The Celtics are currently number three in the Eastern Conference standings and have been among the more surprising teams this season. With the departure of Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Terry Rozier, and Marcus Morris, the Celtics lost rebounding depth and efficient scorers. However, this season, the Celtics managed to make up their heavy losses and signed Kemba Walker, who was the ideal point guard for this team to possess. Unfortunately, the Celtics were unable to sign a rebounding center and, as a result, assigned Daniel Theis as the starting center who has played exceptionally well this season before the COVID-19 outbreak. The concern for the Celtics was always whether or not this team can rebound as they lack a center that can grab boards. Their current starting center only averages 6.6 rebounds, which is abysmal. However, his defence inside the paint and his scoring ability make up for his rebounding, allowing him to be an ideal center for the Boston Celtics. 

Signing DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t mean that he will become the starter and instead would share minutes with Theis and Enes Kanter. This atmosphere would be ideal for DeMarcus, given his track record in the NBA as he struggles to remain healthy. If he is in a situation where he only plays 15-20 minutes a game without stressing that he is the only center on the team, Cousins would have the chance to remain healthy and become efficient. When he was with the Warriors, he was averaging decent numbers given his situation of not playing professional contact basketball in over a year! The Celtics should sign DeMarcus Cousins as he is a big body that can grab rebounds, play-make, and, if needed, shoot a three-pointer, which is precisely what the Boston Celtics need for the center position. 

2. Washington Wizards

Before DeMarcus Cousins entered the NBA as the sixth pick, one of his fondest memories in his basketball career was playing in Kentucky alongside his close friend, John Wall. In an interview on the show called “On The Smoke,” Matt Barnes suggested the idea of a potential reunion of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. In the last five seasons, Wall stated that he has been trying to recruit Cousins on the Washington Wizards and believes that they could perfectly complement each other on and off the court. However, even before this interview, many NBA fans have been waiting for years to witness John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins playing alongside each other. Unfortunately, both Wall and Cousins are far from their primes, but a trio of Cousins, Wall, and Beal would help elevate the Wizards chances in making the playoffs when the season returns. Similar to Boston, Cousins doesn’t have too and shouldn’t start for this team as the Wizards still have Thomas Bryant, who has deemed himself capable of the starting responsibilities. Furthermore, with the Wizards bench already appearing problematic, having DeMarcus Cousins as a sixth man at this point in his career would only benefit him instead of hindering him. If Cousins can accept this role, he still has many years of playing in the NBA as he is nowhere near from being one of the worst centers in the league and deserves a contract as he can still bring value to any organization! 

3. Houston Rockets

During the 2019-20 trade deadline, the Houston Rockets traded away their only rotational center in Clint Capela in exchange for Robert Covington, who has been rumoured to one day join the Rockets for years. Even though the Rockets attain a perfect player for their system, having a center is still essential for an organization to have even if it’s an average center. Luckily enough, the Rockets have a point center in Russell Westbrook as he is capable of averaging ten or more rebounds per game. The only downside to this is, Westbrook is a 6’3 point guard who will have the responsibilities of rebounding against centers like Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, and many more. DeMarcus Cousins would receive the most minutes from the five proposed teams mentioned in this article due to the Rockets lacking any other center. The responsibility that Cousins would have is to rebound and be a big body inside the paint. As far as offensively, Mike D’Antoni created a system where his guards flourish, and every other position has its moments but is never a priority. If any team needs Cousins the most when entering the bubble, it’s easily the Houston Rockets!

4. San Antonio Spurs

With the Spurs being a centimetre away from missing the playoffs, having a player like Cousins could help their chances at making the playoffs. In the last two seasons, the Spurs have possessed arguably the worst starting center in the league in Jakob Poeltl. Before he was traded to the Spurs, Poeltl was the perfect back-up center for the Toronto Raptors hence why the Spurs wanted him in the first place. However, his game failed to translate as he was unable to take on the responsibilities of starting and instead was moved to the bench where LaMarcus Aldridge would be named the new center of the Spurs. This is not an ideal situation to be in hence why the Spurs should look to pursue DeMarcus Cousins. Having a center rotation of Poeltl and Cousins would be suitable in this situation as both centers would prevail if no one gets hurt. Both centers can play roughly 20-25 minutes per game and, as a result, can complement one another in the rotation. Furthermore, this elevates the Spurs bench severely and could make a viable run with DeMarcus Cousins as a starter or a bench player. The only question that needs to be answered is, will Greg Popovich and DeMarcus Cousins get along? 

5. Dallas Mavericks

Having all three of the Texas NBA teams was not on purpose; however, they all lack a viable center. Even though Porzingis can play the center position, he prevails at power forward as he can stretch the floor and defend the ball pretty well. When Luka Docic went down with his injury, Porzingis took over and started to look like his old self despite not playing basketball for more than a year. However, with Dwight Powell suffering a torn Achilles on January 21, 2020, the Mavericks are in desperate need of a starting center as Willie Cauley Stein is not going to be a part of the rotation due to his newborn child. The only center that the Mavericks have is fan favourite Boban Marjanovic who had an incredible game before the season got suspended. Signing DeMarcus Cousins is also a need rather than want, considering that their big man position is weak. With the bench already being one of the more vulnerable points in their rotation, having Cousins would provide the Mavericks needed depth and a starting center, which is a two birds one stone type scenario. Cousins would have a reduced role similar to the Houston Rockets but would be vital to Maverick’s success. With Dallas being a darkhorse team to win it all, a mandatory position that they desperately need is to fill the center position with someone who can rebound the ball decently while being a big body in the paint. Cousins will not be his old self; however, he is better than what the Mavericks currently have at the center position. 

In the end, Cousins will never be at his all-star self and instead will be regarded as a sixth man to an average starting center. In the five teams proposed, he is not subjected to becoming a player that needs to average 20+ points like how he was in the past. Instead, his new NBA role should be a player that can grab rebounds, provide depth, and occasionally score the bucket if it doesn’t overexert himself. The only reason he should be in the NBA is his intellect towards the game as he knows and understands different techniques to score the ball and can also mentor the next generation of what to do and what not to do. Cousins is merely an average NBA player who will have sparks of his old self at this point in his career. It is a shame what happened to Cousins; however, he should still receive another chance to play in the NBA.