A Candid Conversation On The Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins
By Josh Eberley
4) Over in New Orleans the mood is far damper, and yet they aren’t out of the mix either. Who means more to their team going forward, Anthony Davis or DeMarcus Cousins?
Davis – As the “franchise player” in each scenario, both players remain important to their respective teams. Rondo has been phenomenal in his return to form and could even be considered the motor that drives the Kings along, but Cousins is absolutely the backbone of Sacramento’s efforts.
Ryan Anderson has been very strong and the Pelicans have enjoyed somewhat of a revolving door of help from several others generally based upon fluctuating availability, but they also remain a team that is going nowhere without a healthy and relatively efficient Anthony Davis. Admittedly, Cousins has ascended among the list of young(ish) bigs you’d still want to “center” a team around. You really couldn’t go wrong with either of the two going forward, but each are absolutely vital.
Ginsberg – There are a lot of similarities here. Both big men are top-10 players who still have yet to reach their primes playing for smaller market teams. Ultimately, I have to go with Davis because his five-year max contract extension (with an ETO in the 2020-21 season) doesn’t even kick in until this summer, whereas Cousins will be down to 2 years remaining before becoming an unrestricted free agent. The Kings have far less time to sell Boogie on making Sacramento his long-term home than the Pelicans do, and if they can’t, he will likely go somewhere that he thinks he can compete for a championship.
Rowan – Push. They both mean the same, which is to say, EVERYTHING. Whoever has more success moving forward is probably going to be determined by what their front office does more than their individual play. But these are two cornerstone players that are doing incredible things.
Thomas – I’m going with Cousins based on the fact he seems to be able to stay healthy.
Watson – Anthony Davis still has a higher ceiling than Boogie.
Woo – Can I vote for both? Literally all the hopes of both the Pelicans and Kings are pinned to these guys, and if anything ever happened to either of them, it would conceivably force in essence a complete rejiggering. If we’re talking this season, it’s Cousins, simply because the Kings are in the running for the eighth seed. But Davis is the same guy who profiled as a top-five player in the NBA entering what’s been a tough year. I plead the fifth.
Next: Boogie is going to Boogie, how much do you worry about the tantrums?