It would probably take another injury to land him on the team. Not an impossible scenario though. Never say never! Whatever the outcome, it will be a great learning experience for him, and definitely put him in the running for the 2014 world games and the 2016 olympics. Hopefully he's still a sacramento King then.....
Nearly all the players that took part in the FIBA tournament appeared to make great strides on the court the next season. It seemed like they were all mentally tougher/more confident (except Javele Mcgee of course). Even if Cuz is just a reserve, i think he would benefit as much as any young player in the league from veteran advice. I'm really looking forward to Cuz training and getting advice from some of the best guys in the league. i really think/hope they can show him how to be more effective on D w/out fouling
It certainly increases his chances. It would be fun to watch the USA team with Cuz aboard. He'll still have to prove himself in Las Vegas, but I think the odds are with him now.
Sam Amick is a reliable source. I read it the same way as you. Which is pretty sad because he's one of the best bigs in the league. If he didn't have a chip on his shoulder he may get one after this.
I like Derrick Favors, but giving him the last spot on the Olympic team after what Cousins did last season would be a slap in the face. Especially considering that the only other C on the roster is a defensive specialist. This is just speculation at this point though. If Anthony Davis isn't healthy enough to go to the Olympics in a month (which we don't know yet) than the extra spot may go to one of Cousins or Favors and it's going to be the one that impresses the most in workouts. I like Cousins' chances there.
Cousins would dominate in the international game, hes a solid outside shooter, and his physicality would give international teams fits. With all the attention guys like Durant, Kobe, Lebron will get, Cousins can just use that big body of his to gobble up any misses.
I suspect they have Cousins penciled in for a few years from now. He probably seems like a risk and I couldn't blame people who don't know that he's really a pussycat. He also has a problem with fouls and technicals. It's better to wait a few years. Barring unforseen problems, he should be very hard to keep off the roster.
I suspect they have Cousins penciled in for a few years from now. He probably seems like a risk and I couldn't blame people who don't know that he's really a pussycat. He also has a problem with fouls and technicals. It's better to wait a few years. Barring unforseen problems, he should be very hard to keep off the roster.
This may be his only shot at the Olympic team, actually. Stern has openly discussed pulling the focus away from the Olympics and toward the FIBA World Championships. The Olympic team would field only players 23 and under from that point.
The thinking here is to first appease owners who are wary of having their franchise players injured outside of an NBA setting (i.e., where they won't make money off of them). Secondly, focusing on FIBA would mean getting their hands on the revenue generated through FIBA-sanctioned competition (I don't believe the Olympics organization shares revenue).
If Stern gets his way, this may be the only chance Cousins will have at an Olympic medal (unless he's amazing on the pummel horse).
Not for the current team USA though. On a normal NBA team I'd take Cousins over Favors any day, but team USA just out runs everyone. They have all the superstars they need at the wing positions, their big man of choice will always be an athletic, mobile guy who can block shots, rebound the ball and then get out of the way. They're not going to slow the offense down and throw it to Cuz to go to work.
Amare, Bosh and Dwight all differ from Cousins in one major aspect - mobility.
Not for the current team USA though. On a normal NBA team I'd take Cousins over Favors any day, but team USA just out runs everyone. They have all the superstars they need at the wing positions, their big man of choice will always be an athletic, mobile guy who can block shots, rebound the ball and then get out of the way. They're not going to slow the offense down and throw it to Cuz to go to work.
Amare, Bosh and Dwight all differ from Cousins in one major aspect - mobility.
I think the only thing holding Cousins back in this one is the reputation he has around the league.
He is by far the best big man on that select team and should be a certain inclusion for the Olympic team BUT they are going to make him really earn it based on reasons other than basketball.
For purely basketball reasons he should have been there a long time ago.
Cousins is mobile for a guy his size and build, but he doesn't run or jump the way that the other 3 do. Heck, Jason Thompson runs the floor much better than Cousins.
Bosh/Amare/Dwight/Tyson Chandler are far better suited as bigs for team USA's current style of play. Block shots, rebound, run and finish alley oops. Demarcus Cousins is not going to get the ball thrown to him at the free throw line to beat his man off the dribble, or go 1 on 1 in the post while Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul stand around watching.
I think the only thing holding Cousins back in this one is the reputation he has around the league.
He is by far the best big man on that select team and should be a certain inclusion for the Olympic team BUT they are going to make him really earn it based on reasons other than basketball.
For purely basketball reasons he should have been there a long time ago.
Cousins didn't run the floor very well last year, especially on D, and especially if compared to Amare, Bosh or Dwight. It's one area of his game that needs improvement.
Cousins didn't run the floor very well last year, especially on D, and especially if compared to Amare, Bosh or Dwight. It's one area of his game that needs improvement.
That's not the point. The point is that Team USA would be better off using one of those guys, because they don't need a center who can dominate his individual opponent. They can play these 2 power forwards and said freak of nature at center and possibly still do better than if they had Cousins, for the simple fact that those guys can run the floor much faster and jump much higher. The original question was Favors VS Cousins, and Favors is more like Bosh/Amare/Howard in terms of athleticism than Cousins is. Favors can rebound, and he can run better than Cousins can. That fills the need they have better than Cousins, despite Cousins being the much better player.
I would have thought Kings fans would be one of the first to understand the concept of fit.