Well in a perfect world you'd have a guy that was around 6'11" - 7'1" and 250 to 270 lbs to play center and shift Cousins to PF and yet still had the foot speed to guard athletic fours. Who had good hands and could score down low as well as step out to 15 - 18 ft and hit a jumper with regularity but who doesn't demand shots. Who sets picks, rebounds and blocks shots, but more importantly knows where everyone should be defensively and is able to make the right rotation to protect the basket when things break down. And guy who has a little junkyard dog to his game.
Cousins is an anomaly in being a big who is dominant offensively and on the boards and yet who isn't a defensive anchor. Most guys are both. And it's why finding a perfect compliment is difficult. Most guys that can fill that role on D also want to be the go-to guy offensively.
Think of defensive anchors of the past. Ewing, Mourning and Shaq would not have allowed Cousins to be the go-to big man, even though in Mourning's case he really should of. Mutombo would have but would have been a bad match on offense.
Samuel Dalembert ticked some boxes. Had most of the physical tools and could block shots but couldn't really be a defensive anchor because he was often out of position and also seemed to think he was a go-to guy offensively despite not having the skill. And he's always been a poor locker room guy mostly because his efforts are often questioned.
Andre Drummond was a huge miss for the Kings. Not great awareness on D either but supreme tools and young enough that you have to think he'll get there. Still, of the 614 shots Drummond took last year, 598 (96%) were within four feet of the basket. I'm of the school that you get a talent like that next to Cuz and find a way to make it work but the reality is that I think Drummond will follow a Dwight Howard type career arc and thus everybody playing with him will need to space the floor. Which means if he played with Cuz you'd either have DMC primarily shooting jumpers or Drummond moved to the high post where he has yet to show any effectiveness or even potential. Still, on the defensive side he's probably the best fit in the league as a center who could allow Boogie to slide to the 4.
Tyson Chandler is close to ideal but doesn't really have the bulk to defend physical guys inside.
Hibbert is the defensive anchor but is soft on the boards, disappears for stretches and leaves you with two guys who can't guard athletic bigs and a front court that is going to be plodding and slow in transition.
Marc Gasol is an interesting fit and Boogie is more versatile than Z-Bo so it could certainly work. Kind of a modern day Webb and Vlade but of course Gasol isn't exactly an athletic shot blocker.
Late career David Robinson would probably be ideal. Sure he lacks a killer instinct which is why he was willing to step back and make room for Duncan and he's not a Charles Oakley personality but maybe he'd have help calm DMC. Who knows? But there's only been one David Robinson in the history of the NBA.
Looking at the Bad Boys era Pistons Lambier could draw defenses with his jumper and was a mix it up man defender but not a defensive anchor or shot blocker. John Salley filled that role but (1) wasn't an elite defensive player or shot blocker and (2) wasn't much bigger than Moreland.
I often think one of the Davis boys from Indiana would have been nice fits. Dale was bigger and stronger and a better rebounder while Antonio was quicker and more athletic. Neither came into the league much bigger than Moreland (Antonio Davis was smaller actually) but both clearly hit the weight room. Still, neither guy was a real defensive anchor or shot blocker per se. More of enforcer/rebounder types, especially Dale who was the only one big enough to really guard centers.
If you get rid of the requirement that the guy be a full grown center and force Cuz to man the 5 spot and guard opposing centers then you start looking at long athletic shot blockers. This is where your Larry Nance (who came in Nerlens Noel sized), Marcus Camby, Larry Sanders, John Henson and Anthony Davis players come in. And as I've shown previously, Moreland is coming in at the same size as all of those guys.
My point (if I have one) is that it's hard even considering the entire history of the NBA to find a perfect front court mate for DeMarcus. I suppose in an perfect situation you'd have a guy like Drummond with a guy like Adriean Payne off the bench. And the Kings could have drafted both guys.
But since they didn't, you keep DMC at the pivot and hope Moreland can be a poor man's Larry Sanders.
