Don't Cousins and Durant hate each other?
I think getting Cousins here would out a lot of players off coming here as free agents tbh.
Our old friend Kevin Garnett is considered one of the biggest jerks in the nba but him being on a team makes it a winner
Kevin Garnett was a league MVP and was never considered a quitter.
Not true.
Sczerbiak publically criticised KG for not being a good leader, for being too passive, and for not having the balls to take big shots.
Until KG came to Boston and won a title, he was constantly criticised for not being able to carry his teams far enough.
He was also constantly criticised for his personality and attitude.
It wasn't until he came to Boston and won a title that suddenly everybody's opinion of him changed and he went from being "that guy who can't win / lead" to being "that guy who is a winner / leader".
Even when he came to Boston, Doc was constantly trying to push him to be more aggressive on offense and to take more shots rather than always deferring to teammates.
As the saying goes, winning changes everything in this league.
IT when he was in Sacramento was looked at as a black hole, a chucker and a borderline team cancer. Two years on a winning Boston team (with a good coach) and IT is voted an All-Star and is getting respect around the league.
If Cousins was traded to Boston and we made the finals next year (or won a title) then everybody's opinion of him would change and he would go from "crybaby loser" to "passionate winner".
This is hands down the biggest piece of revisionist-history I have ever read on this board.
The Timberwolves made the playoffs for 8 consecutive seasons with Garnett, during that time he made an all rookie team, he was voted to seven all-NBA teams, eight all-defensive teams, won an olympic gold medal, set an NBA record for leading his team in defensive rebounds for 5 consecutive seasons, became the first player in NBA history to be named NBA player of the month for four months in a single season, made 12 consecutive all-star games, became the third player in NBA history to lead his team in all five major statistical categories, was named all star game MVP once, was named league MVP once, and made the Western Conference finals. All that happened BEFORE Garnett ever made it to the Celtics.
Demarcus Cousins by comparison has never been on a team that's broken the vaunted 30 win barrier and has made two all star games. He was voted a reserve this year, and named as a replacement for the injured Kobe Bryant by the league in 2015. He holds the NBA record for getting coaches fired in consecutive seasons (5).
Most of the accolades you list for KG were achieved later in his career when he was getting towards his late 20s and was putting up huge numbers.
When he was Cousin's age (mid 20s) his numbers were nowhere near as impressive as DMC's are right now, and once again (as I have said about a million times) he wasn't playing for a team with the King's level of dysfunction.
The Wolves weren't ever really that dysfunctional, they just weren't that great.
People also underestimate the talent on those Wolves rosters. They were by no means incredible, but KG played with some pretty solid players. Terell Brandon, Sam Cassell, Wally Sczerbiak, Latrell Sprewell, Joe Smith, Stephon Marbury, Bobby Jackson, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Peeler, Troy Hudson, Ricky Davis.
Sure not all of those guys were huge stars, but it's not like he spent his entire career playing with scrubs.
You also need to consider the fact that the NBA was different in those days. You didn't really have teams with 3 superstars - Boston kinda started that whole thing when Pierce, KG and Ray joined forces, and before that the big two-man combinations (e.g. Kobe and Shaq) were about as talented as teams got.
It's not like now where every second team seems to have three superstars - now days it's very hard for a team with one star to be really competitive. There are exceptions (e.g. Boston) but those teams tend to have outstanding coaches and a special set of players which allows the team to over-perform.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying Cousins has had no talent - he has had Tyreke Evens, Isaiah Thomas, Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay - he's had some solid players too. But he's never had any more talent then say, Anthony Davis has this year (Gordon, Tyreke, etc) and yet Davis hasn't taken the Pelicans any further - even when they were healthy.
KG's last two Timberwolves teams missed the playoffs and finished with records in the 0.400 range, so you can't really argue that the previous teams ONLY went far because of him - if having him on the team made them an instant playoff team, why did those last two teams do no better than Cousins has this year?
I'm not trying to criticise KG or underrate his brilliance as a player. As I've said previously, KG is actually my favourite NBA player of all time - hell, I would take him back on the Celtics right now if he'd come.
I'm just trying to demonstrate the fact that Cousins is in a disaster of a situation, and I don't think it's fair to put all that blame on him until you've seen him outside of that environment. If he goes to another half normal team and still has the same problems, then fine. But so far he has played his entire career for what may be the most dysfunctional team in all organised sports, he's never had a mentor to point him in the right direction or to show him how he should act, and he's never an ounce of stability around him. For a guy as competitive and emotional as Cousins, putting him in a volatile situation like that is asking for trouble - you may as well just flip the switch and hit "detonate" right now.
Tyrke came in to the NBA putting up 20/5/5 for the Kings and looking like a future superstar, and I always felt that being in Sacramento for so long stunted his growth. Cousins has flourished in Sacramento which I think is a testament to his incredible talent and his high work ethic - you don't become that good by being lazy and not working hard.
Guys can ook very different depending on environments. Evan Turner was seen as a really talented young player when he was in Philly - he was a starting calibre guy who looked like he had real upside. Then half a season in Indiana was all it took to pretty much destroy his career, and to see him labelled as a team cancer.
Then he came to Boston, and his career has been completely revitalised in this positive environment. Similar things happened with guys like Marcus Thornton and Jamal Crawford - both were seen as cancers for their previous horrible teams (Kings, Wizards) then when they came to Boston their reputations improved significantly.
I think Cousins deserves a chance to prove he can be a better man, and I think that Boston is probably THE best place for him to do that. I don't think there is a single coach in the NBA who is both as good AND as easy going as Stevens. He's lax enough to keep Cousins calm, and his talented enough to earn his respect. I think he's well worth the shot.
Topic: Voisin of Sacramento Bee: Cousins must be traded (Read 21984 times)