Cousins: Stand by your team, don't bolt in free agency

captain bill

captain bill

All-Star
http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/archives/2011/12/cousins-offers.html

I mean, trying to join another - I mean, I'm not taking jabs at anybody - but to me that's kind of like taking the coward's way out. At the same time I respect you because you want to be a winner. But, me, being the type of person I am, I am wanting to lead my team. I want to stay with the group of guys I came in (into the league) with. I'm going to do what I gotta do to help my team win.
"I mean, that's how most of them (superstars) came up. They stuck with their teams til they got their chance. That's how I feel about it. Magic. Isiah Thomas .. I mean all those guys. They stuck with their teams."
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Great to see him talking like this. With the new arena gaining traction, if Cousins I reaches his potential I really feel like the Kings could be the "good guys" in the NBA: staying in a small market, fighting off the lure of big cities, building through the draft with character guys and putting together a winning team that's not going to fall apart.


There's nothing I would love more than to see Evans-Cousins-Jimmer turn into the next "big 3" and dismantle the Heat in the finals some time in the next five years.
 
Like basically everything Cousins is saying since hitting camp again, and an attitude like the above is absolutely critical to long term success for a team like Sacramento. A foundational guy showing loyalty can rub off and give your team stability and personality.
 
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Tetsujin said:
MT's here for the longhaul too
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I was trying to figure out who the third would be. The talent on this team is insane right now: Thornton, Hayes, JT, Hickson and then our SF mob. I'm going to have to correct myself and say that we don't have a big 3 but just the foundations for a damn good TEAM.
 
Dam well hope this attitude stays, doesnt take much though - last season showed he can be fairly disgruntled at times and it only takes a few of those incidents with a stuborn belief that everyones out to get you that make superstars leave.

We can not let him have his own way though. Tough love will keep him here, not giving him a free reign.
 
I really do think Cousins will be the best thing to ever happen to this franchise. Yes, better than Reke. No matter who stays and who goes, if we have a franchise center for the next decade, we'll always have something to build around. Easier than losing him, and building around Reke, or any other guard. Especially with Cousins skillset. He wants to get everyone involved. IMO, he's the most talented player we have, and have had in this era since Webb, and he could end up being better. I think he will.

But I love them both!
 
You know what player stands by his team? Derrick Rose. You never see the guy trying to recruit the likes of LeBron, Wade, Dwight or whoever it may be to help him out. He just plays with the team he has and I respect him for not demanding a trade or anything like that.
 
kingsboi said:
You know what player stands by his team? Derrick Rose. You never see the guy trying to recruit the likes of LeBron, Wade, Dwight or whoever it may be to help him out. He just plays with the team he has and I respect him for not demanding a trade or anything like that.
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He tried to get LeBron and Wade to go to Chicago last year.
 
Superman said:
He tried to get LeBron and Wade to go to Chicago last year.
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I know they are trying to get Howard too... I would bet that Rose is trying to recruit him. @kingsboi, you would be foolish not to try and recruit people to your team of that caliber.
 
kingsboi said:
You know what player stands by his team? Derrick Rose. You never see the guy trying to recruit the likes of LeBron, Wade, Dwight or whoever it may be to help him out. He just plays with the team he has and I respect him for not demanding a trade or anything like that.
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Rose is in no position to demand a trade or recruit anyone to the Bulls. He had two years left on his rookie contract at about $7mil this season and around $9 mil at the end.
 
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This is great stuff from DeMarcus, and 100% true. I'm glad he sees those guys for what they are - wusses, afraid of competition. Hopefully he stands by his word, he can be a star for this franchise for many years.
 
This is a pretty good interview, just added a few hours ago. You can really seem him becoming a leader. Puts effort into his answers and really believe this team can be very good. Talks about the new offense, Chuck, Jimmer, etc. Can't wait to see the guys out there again.

 
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Dime Dropper said:
This is a pretty good interview, just added a few hours ago. You can really seem him becoming a leader. Puts effort into his answers and really believe this team can be very good. Talks about the new offense, Chuck, Jimmer, etc. Can't wait to see the guys out there again.

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Not only does Cousins look lighter but his whole demeanor seems different from last year. He seems more at ease, more confident, better spoken, etc.
 
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Possibly what I like most about the interview is that he said he will largely be playing in the low block. That is where he needs to be as a dominant big man with size, strength, and finesse. If he can become elite in the low block and then also be able to play in the high post and further out against less mobile defenders, he will become the best offensive center in the league.
 
vikinginferno said:
Possibly what I like most about the interview is that he said he will largely be playing in the low block. That is where he needs to be as a dominant big man with size, strength, and finesse. If he can become elite in the low block and then also be able to play in the high post and further out against less mobile defenders, he will become the best offensive center in the league.
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I also like how both Cousins and Greene mentioned how Hayes is constantly talking on defense and helping (and making sure) that everyone is on the same page defensively. I think that is something the Kings were desperately missing last year.
 
For a guy who has been labeled a head case in the past, he seems to have matured into a leader. I like what I'm seeing from DeMarcus.
 
wow. what a great interview!! its not necessary for me to echo what's already been said, so i'll just add that i really like seeing demarcus' IQ on the court translate to his conversations with the media. its refreshing to hear someone talk basketball-related particulars for a change. i get bored of the tired, generic lines that players typically deliver, but as long as demarcus allows this maturity and ease and force of personality to permeate his regular-season media interaction, he's gonna be the best thing that happened to the player interview since ron ron. truthfully, i don't think the rest of the nba is ready for this kid yet. they know about his size. they know about his temper. but i'm not sure they're aware of just how damn basketball smart he is. i can't wait to see how he'll surprise us next...
 
I haven't been happy with anything that has gone on with the Kings since the season ended outside of Thornton resigning. Jimmer was not my pick, I was unhappy to see Salmons back and more unhappy to see the team seemingly letting Dalembert walk. I like Chuck Hayes, but as a 4th, MAYBE 3rd big on a good team, not as a starting PF and certainly not in lieu of a shotblocker and weakside help defender. And don't get me started on the Jamal Crawford rumors.

In short, it's been hard to be excited about this season, especially given the tenuous nature of the Kings even staying in Sacramento beyond this season.

And somehow, just that little interview with Cousins has made a big improvement on my outlook on the team. He looks good and he's saying all the right things and I really hope the big fella turns a lot of heads around the league this year in a good way.

I'm still questioning the front office's wisdom this offseason but hearing Cousins talk served as a nice reminder to me that a team with two stars can go a long way regardless of the supporting cast and I still think Evans and Cousins can be those guys.

It may not be my perfect offseason, but even beyond Evans, Cousins and Thornton there is some depth and skill on this squad.

Jimmer should at least stretch defenses as a situational shooter.
Garcia is a good voice to have in the locker room and a decent roleplayer who does a little of everything
Salmons is a tough defender, a good ballhandler and can score when he's on
Hayes is a tough man defender down low and rebounds well. Also sounds like he's good at coordinating the team D.
Hickson, despite bad hands and lack of defensive focus has a lot of potential. At the least he should get easy dunks off drives from the guards and in the pick and roll
Thompson is a serviceable PF/C which is more valuable than many realize
Whiteside is still an athletic, shotblocking seven footer. We have to hope he develops
And anything from Thomas or Honeycutt is a bonus.

Not a championship squad, but my optimism for Cousins' development has at least let me shed a bit of pessimism and cynicism for the time being. Go kings.
 
DMC will be an All Star before long. He can pass, post up, shoot, play in the high post, run, handle the ball, good vision for a center, hopefully Chucky Hayes teaches him the nuances of defense, because DMC is long and should be able to be a formidable shot blocker.
 
Long before the draft, when I was watching Kentucky play, I said that Cousins was the most talented big man to come along in the last 10 or 15 years. And I think that statement will be borne out in the years to come. Fortunately for us, too many people got tangled in the all the negative reports about his immaturity and temper. While those things are important to look at, they forgot to look at how talented he was. While the interview was great, Rome wasn't built in a day, and I don't expect all his bad habits to suddenly go away. But I do expect, and I'm confident there will be, big improvements in his game, and in his demeanor. He has the attitude of a winner, and he doesn't want to ride anyone's coattails. Quite the contrary, he wants everyone to ride his. Way to go big guy!!
 
captain bill said:
http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/archives/2011/12/cousins-offers.html




Great to see him talking like this. With the new arena gaining traction, if Cousins I reaches his potential I really feel like the Kings could be the "good guys" in the NBA: staying in a small market, fighting off the lure of big cities, building through the draft with character guys and putting together a winning team that's not going to fall apart.


There's nothing I would love more than to see Evans-Cousins-Jimmer turn into the next "big 3" and dismantle the Heat in the finals some time in the next five years.
Click to expand...

Very nice to see. That's the kind of thing you hear from leaders, not followers. He has a lot of potential, not just in the physical area, but in the leadership area. He just has to continue to mature and channel his emotional impulses into a clean burning winning fire.
 
EIM86 said:
Glad he understands loyalty unlike these other athletes these days.
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I'm thrilled Cousins is talking like this because for Sac to succeed; their A-guys need to be like Durant and not like C. Paul.

That said; loyalty is dead going the other direction too. Look what Denver/NY did to Chauncey.

In this regard; I always thought Petrie did his free agents well(see Brockman, Thorton, etc.)
 
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