2019 NBA free agency: 5 potential landing spots for DeMarcus Cousins
3. Boston Celtics
It’s pretty amazing how different the outlook of a franchise can seem after just one season. At this time last year, some had already pegged the Boston Celtics as the 2018-19 champions. Now, they’ve backtracked significantly with a core in place that will at best get them to the bottom half of the playoff bracket.
Kyrie Irving will be playing elsewhere next season. For as much as that may hurt Celtics fans, it’s been a near fact for quite some time now. The real kick in the gut for Boston came about a week ago, when it was reported Al Horford would opt out of the final year of his contract and hit unrestricted free agency.
A valued part of the Cs’ success since his arrival, most had assumed Horford would opt out only to re-sign with the Celtics on a more lucrative deal. Soon after the report of his opt-out, however, came the news that due to contract disputes with Boston, the five-time All-Star would not be returning to Beantown.
There’s an argument to be made for the Celtics actually playing better without the services of Irving. The same cannot be said for Horford, whose two-way versatility can’t easily be replaced. Combined with the recent trade of big man Aaron Baynes, Boston has a massive hole at its center position.
The Cs have been linked to Orlando Magic‘s Nikola Vucevic in looking to fill their void. Bringing him in may be too big a task to accomplish given Orlando’s desire to retain its All-Star. Cousins may not fit on the new timeline Boston has crossed over to, but he could help stop the floodgates and allow Danny Ainge a year to regroup and retool his game plan.
Brad Stevens’ structured and rigid offensive system may not have been conducive to the free-flowing creativity that Irving exudes with the basketball. It would be ideal in creating efficient options for a guy like Boogie, who can’t always create looks for himself out of thin air.
Boston’s garnered a reputation over the years for getting the most out of mid-level players due to the mastery of Stevens’ schemes. Cousins is more than above-average, but he needs some help to get there. What better place than with a coach capable elevating one’s level of play, helping DeMarcus rediscover his dominance that is sure to help land a bigger contract next summer?