Demarcus Freaking Cousins
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so after the OKC-GSW game on NBAtv on Wednesday, on NBA Gametime with EJ/Steve Smith/Shaq,
EJ asked shaq "what caught your attention around the league on this night?"
Shaq answered "DeMarcus Cousins, he's the most talented big man in the league" and he went on to compliment big Cuz with the occasional comment of "if he gets his head on straight"
EJ also chimed in and said that its been nothing but good things since his last suspension.
EJ asked shaq "what caught your attention around the league on this night?"
Shaq answered "DeMarcus Cousins, he's the most talented big man in the league" and he went on to compliment big Cuz with the occasional comment of "if he gets his head on straight"
EJ also chimed in and said that its been nothing but good things since his last suspension.
In many ways, Cousins plays a more traditional power forward role than he does a center role. His offense, handles, range and defensive abilities are much more similar to Karl Malone than they are to what we traditionally think of as a Center, which tends to be the rim protector and rebounder role. The comparison to Duncan is apropo, although Duncan is better defensively.
What would be really neat is if we could play Tyson Chandler next to Cousins. That's a playoff team, regardless of who else is on the court.
What would be really neat is if we could play Tyson Chandler next to Cousins. That's a playoff team, regardless of who else is on the court.
L
Maybe, but the fact of the matter is TRob is starting to blossom more and more into an NBA player. It's still way too early to tell who the best pick would have been. If we are arguing that Drummond or Barnes would have filled a needed role on the team, then that's a different argument, but I think GP went for the BPA when TRob fell to us.
I can't even muster the energy to get worked up about this again, but even on draft day my thought was that even IF Robinson became as good as some thought he would (and which I had my doubts about) he STILL wouldn't be a good fit next to Cousins in terms of style.
Honestly, if Robinson had turned out to be a stud I think the natural implication would have been that the Kings trade DMC.
And in all fairness, I didn't think Drummond would show as many flashes as he has this early. His ceiling is even higher than I thought. But my reasoning was that at the minimum he would be a JaVale McGee or DeAndre Jordan level player. And those are $10 million a year guys.
Honestly, if Robinson had turned out to be a stud I think the natural implication would have been that the Kings trade DMC.
And in all fairness, I didn't think Drummond would show as many flashes as he has this early. His ceiling is even higher than I thought. But my reasoning was that at the minimum he would be a JaVale McGee or DeAndre Jordan level player. And those are $10 million a year guys.
it stings somethin' fierce. i was high on drummond, though less so than others here. prior to the draft, i figured that if kidd-gilchrist was off the board when the kings were on the clock, and they hadn't decided to trade away their pick, they wouldn't be out of their minds to consider drummond. it would have been a project worthy of investment, even without the benefit of hindsight. i've long maintained that cousins and evans are the building blocks on which to construct a power team that wins with muscle and force of will, so stashing drummond on the bench to develop for a couple of years while the kings plucked veterans from the trade block and free agent pool to bolster a young and erratic roster seemed like a smart move to me. of course, none of that happened, and we're still stuck with a too-young, too-imbalanced roster full of chuckers instead of a too-young, moderately balanced roster with infinite potential in the frontcourt (i don't think anybody expected drummond to come along as far as he has in year one). t-rob is starting to show signs of his potential, but i still don't see him as much more than a big time motor guy off the bench who gives you extra hustle while being the beneficiary of the occasional alley-oop in transition...
These were my thoughts going into the draft as well. I liked him as a prospect, but with his red flags I didnt think he would do well here. And that's more on the FO than Drummond. Smart would probably have him in the D-League.
Had I known predraft that by next year we would have new ownership, new coach, and new FO, I would have been totally behind us taking the risk. Ah well, T-Rob is starting to come around at least.
Had I known predraft that by next year we would have new ownership, new coach, and new FO, I would have been totally behind us taking the risk. Ah well, T-Rob is starting to come around at least.
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I don't know whether T-Rob will ever be that great fit next to Cousins. The rebounding and hustle work well, but unless he can teach himself to shoot (become a stretch 4, basically) or block shots like Josh Smith, he's not the type of big man you are looking to put next to Cousins, and may never be. In which case, we would need to find a trade partner to get back a complementary piece.
people wanna talk about Cousins attitude problems, did anyone see RUSSEL WESTBROOK last night? Cousins has done a lot of dumb ****, but ive never seen him throw a hissy fit on the bench to that magnitude, and ive never seen him punch a chair and storm off the court into the locker room DURING A FREAKING GAME!!!
I saw the Westbrook meltdown and it bothers me that an established player on an established contender would have a temper tantrum. Bothers me when Kobe does his death stare at team mates and coaches, bothers me when Rondo or Melo act like thugs, it even bothers me when Josh Smith starts acting like an underpaid franchise player. These guys are all stars on good franchises, solid coaches, good front office, outbursts from them seem selfish and immature.
Cousins plays for the Kings. Everybody on the forum knows the situation with this team from the owners to the coach. He is a product of the environment. I like to think he is passionate about making the team better, about becoming the franchise player and he is reacting to car crash around him. The owners don't care about the team, the coach doesn't care about the team because he doesn't need results to keep his job. Players are the team are more concerned with getting their shots than they are with winning. On top of that, he has created a reputation around the league for snapping and feels targeted.
Used to be easy to say *he needs to grow up, be a pro* but this problem really could be everyone elses fault and not his. I'm more concerned with the players that just sit back and accept failure than I am with the one guy in this organization that actual seems to care.
Cousins plays for the Kings. Everybody on the forum knows the situation with this team from the owners to the coach. He is a product of the environment. I like to think he is passionate about making the team better, about becoming the franchise player and he is reacting to car crash around him. The owners don't care about the team, the coach doesn't care about the team because he doesn't need results to keep his job. Players are the team are more concerned with getting their shots than they are with winning. On top of that, he has created a reputation around the league for snapping and feels targeted.
Used to be easy to say *he needs to grow up, be a pro* but this problem really could be everyone elses fault and not his. I'm more concerned with the players that just sit back and accept failure than I am with the one guy in this organization that actual seems to care.
K
Great article on why its unfair to make Cousins the scapegoat for this season
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1519510-demarcus-cousins-should-not-be-scapegoated-for-the-kings-woeful-season
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1519510-demarcus-cousins-should-not-be-scapegoated-for-the-kings-woeful-season
I agree with you to a large extent. One thing that Cuz has is a passion to win, and if a coach can convince him that his system will result in wins, then he's likely to be on board. Unfortunately, he came into the league with a reputation, and once you have it, its very hard to overcome it. It can take years because your setbacks make for better press than your accomplishments do. No one cares about the charity work he does, or how he loves little children. Naw, none of that counts. What counts is his losing his temper on the court, or his poor choice of words when talking to a ref.
Thats not to excuse him. And if he wants to be more accepted, then he has to work at reversing the situation. I think Cuz's problem is, that he has a hard time separating his passion from the results. And to get a different result, he trys to squelch his passion, which leads to uninspired play. Cuz without the passion, is just an average player. So right now, I think he's in a bit of a quandry. He's trying to figure out how to play with his passion, but not let that passion overflow into what he percieves as bad calls, or non calls. Some of this is just his natural makeup, and some of it is a lack of maturity. But trust me, when your 22 years old, you don't want people telling you, or writing about you as being immature. By its very nature, being immature, doesn't lend itself to understanding what being immature means. It would be like walking into a bar and calling an big idiot, stupid! Your likely to get punched.
Cousins has a trust issue. In Kentucky, he trusted Calapari to have his back, and he did. He trusted Calapari when Calapari told him if he played a certain way, the team would win, and they did. He trusted Calapari would never throw him under the bus, and he didn't. All that changed under Westphal, when everything said or done by Cousins was made public by Westphal. And of course Petrie backed Westphal, which is the norm for a GM. And as a result, Westphal lost Cousins, and probably to some extent, Petrie lost him as well. I don't think Cousins wants special treatment, or elite treatment. Quite the contrary. I think he would love to be treated exactly the same as everyone else on the team, and not be singled out everytime he does what a lot of other players do, but gets quite a different result. But it is what it is, and like it or not, Cousins has to learn to cope with what is. If he doesn't, then he's likely to waste what could be a great career. I certainly hope for the sake of the Kings, he's able to put his house in order, and just get on with playing basketball. With all due respect to Tyreke, Cousins is the only player we have that comes close to being a franchise player.
Thats not to excuse him. And if he wants to be more accepted, then he has to work at reversing the situation. I think Cuz's problem is, that he has a hard time separating his passion from the results. And to get a different result, he trys to squelch his passion, which leads to uninspired play. Cuz without the passion, is just an average player. So right now, I think he's in a bit of a quandry. He's trying to figure out how to play with his passion, but not let that passion overflow into what he percieves as bad calls, or non calls. Some of this is just his natural makeup, and some of it is a lack of maturity. But trust me, when your 22 years old, you don't want people telling you, or writing about you as being immature. By its very nature, being immature, doesn't lend itself to understanding what being immature means. It would be like walking into a bar and calling an big idiot, stupid! Your likely to get punched.
Cousins has a trust issue. In Kentucky, he trusted Calapari to have his back, and he did. He trusted Calapari when Calapari told him if he played a certain way, the team would win, and they did. He trusted Calapari would never throw him under the bus, and he didn't. All that changed under Westphal, when everything said or done by Cousins was made public by Westphal. And of course Petrie backed Westphal, which is the norm for a GM. And as a result, Westphal lost Cousins, and probably to some extent, Petrie lost him as well. I don't think Cousins wants special treatment, or elite treatment. Quite the contrary. I think he would love to be treated exactly the same as everyone else on the team, and not be singled out everytime he does what a lot of other players do, but gets quite a different result. But it is what it is, and like it or not, Cousins has to learn to cope with what is. If he doesn't, then he's likely to waste what could be a great career. I certainly hope for the sake of the Kings, he's able to put his house in order, and just get on with playing basketball. With all due respect to Tyreke, Cousins is the only player we have that comes close to being a franchise player.
I had read the article earlier, and considering the souce, its one of the better written articles, and well thought out. I've said for a couple of years now that the Kings are group of ill fitting pieces that just don't work well together. And until the team becomes more balanced, its never going to dig its way out of the hole its in. The Warriors are a perfect example of what a make over can do. Two years ago, they were a team very similar to the current Kings team. Now they have a very well balanced roster, and guess what, they're winning again
This Kings team reminds me of the old Kings in the early days after the roster had been torn apart by an idiot GM (same guy that traded away Oscar Robertson) when we would have one of two good players (Tisdale, Simmons, Richmond, etc.) and we would surround them with rejects or walk on's from around the league. We'd go to the games, and actually try and convince ourselves that we had a talented team that should be winning more games. When if fact, our record probably reflected our talent level. We may not be quite that bad right now, but our record probably reflects our talent level. After you get past Cousins and Evans, the talent level drops dramaticly with a couple of good support players, a couple of players with future potential, and the rest are just a bunch of players that at seasons end would be standing in the unemployment line hoping for a spot on a team.
I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I honestly believe its the truth. And to make matters worse, the group of lesser players think they're better than they are, and none of them fit well together. Its one thing to have a Kobe or a Michael Jordan who dominates the ball, and trying to figure out how best to support them. But its entirely different situation to have a Brooks, a Thomas, or a Thornton, who think they're the next coming of Kobe or Michael, and try to figure out how best to get them all to play together along with Tyreke and Cousins. Especially if they don't recognize that they're lesser talents.
If I were the new wealthy owner, this team would be getting a major overhaul in the offseason.
This Kings team reminds me of the old Kings in the early days after the roster had been torn apart by an idiot GM (same guy that traded away Oscar Robertson) when we would have one of two good players (Tisdale, Simmons, Richmond, etc.) and we would surround them with rejects or walk on's from around the league. We'd go to the games, and actually try and convince ourselves that we had a talented team that should be winning more games. When if fact, our record probably reflected our talent level. We may not be quite that bad right now, but our record probably reflects our talent level. After you get past Cousins and Evans, the talent level drops dramaticly with a couple of good support players, a couple of players with future potential, and the rest are just a bunch of players that at seasons end would be standing in the unemployment line hoping for a spot on a team.
I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I honestly believe its the truth. And to make matters worse, the group of lesser players think they're better than they are, and none of them fit well together. Its one thing to have a Kobe or a Michael Jordan who dominates the ball, and trying to figure out how best to support them. But its entirely different situation to have a Brooks, a Thomas, or a Thornton, who think they're the next coming of Kobe or Michael, and try to figure out how best to get them all to play together along with Tyreke and Cousins. Especially if they don't recognize that they're lesser talents.
If I were the new wealthy owner, this team would be getting a major overhaul in the offseason.
i think its fair to say that if the average human being was in Cousins postition (best player on a terrible team run by a terrible coach and a terrible franchise with terrible owners) they would probably have some outbursts if they were passionate about this game and wanting to win and wanting to make this team successful. so im not gonna rip Cousins. if this type of behavior from Cousins continues next year when there is new owners/GM/Coach/Players around Cousins, then i will start to say he's a problem