Demarcus Cousins is still the biggest missed opportunity in the Ainge era.

[Diggles]

The irony of it is we supposedly passed on him because Ainge and Stevens want high character players to promote good team chemistry, and the team chemistry has fallen off a cliff anyway in the playoffs.

We never really have been under this pressure.    Character is being tested.   Stevens says we are not as good as our record.   Guess he was right again.   DC would have made things worse not better.   

[Endless Paradise]

The irony of it is we supposedly passed on him because Ainge and Stevens want high character players to promote good team chemistry, and the team chemistry has fallen off a cliff anyway in the playoffs.

We never really have been under this pressure.    Character is being tested.   Stevens says we are not as good as our record.   Guess he was right again.   DC would have made things worse not better.

Guarantee he would've been at least able to rebound in the course of making things worse.

[Big333223]

I have no interest in talking about Demarcus Cousins until he helps a team make the playoffs. Just once.

[CelticsElite]

Putting 2 hotheads like smart and cousins on the same team is a recipe for disaster

[RJ87]

Putting 2 hotheads like smart and cousins on the same team is a recipe for disaster

People said the same thing about Rondo going to Sacramento. By all accounts, Cousins and Rondo became close. Sometimes, you need a guy fluent in knucklehead to get through to the your own resident knucklehead.

[Roy H.]

Putting 2 hotheads like smart and cousins on the same team is a recipe for disaster

Like KG, Perk and Rondo. A lot of guys on that team had fire, including occasionally losing control of their emotions.

Over time, I've come to appreciate hotheads.

[BringToughnessBack]

What position are the Pelicans in the playoffs? Cousins joining Davis making 2 top 10 players on one team means they of course steam rolled everyone on their way to the promised land....oh wait, he has still yet to make the playoffs....I am not convinced of anything related to Cousins besides the fact he is an amazing physical player with amazing stats. Maybe his 3rd team will find a way to get him his first playoff visit...

I am sure what Divac wanted from the Celtics would have dwarfed in comparison to what the Pelicans gave away...like 2017, Brown and one of Crowder/Smart and who knows if that would have even been enough for them. I do not fault a team for choosing to setting a bar high with high character players. I am not saying that we do not desperately need a rebounder/center that fits Cousins stats, but we definitely do not need a bad seed with ZERO playoff experience joining us for a gut job of every asset we have acquired that has any worth(Brooklyn Picks and Brown)

If everyone is fine with gutting our team for the hope that Cousins suddenly gets it and becomes a model citizen and suddenly becomes a leader and suddenly becomes an addition on both stats and as a teammate, than that is your choice. I for one would not give away the Brooklyn Picks plus Brown and Smart/Crowder and just hope it all works out in the end.

Maybe it was the biggest opportunity missed and Cousins would have miraculously fell into line and gotten it and finally got to play in a playoff game or maybe it was one of the most fortuitous things that Danny ever did for our franchise...time will tell...

[PhoSita]

DeMarcus Cousins. Taj Gibson. Serge Ibaka. Jusuf Nurkic. All guys who went for relatively cheap that Boston didn't make a move on for whatever reason, despite having all the assets needed to acquire them (wouldn't have even had to use a Nets pick for anyone other than Cousins).

Not to mention Nerlens Noel or even Mason Plumlee.

Remember, the bar here is "a big capable of blocking out Robin Lopez" -- a dude who has a career Offensive Rebound % of 12.3 but is rebounding 21.3% of his team's misses so far in this series.

[cousytoheinsohn]

Putting 2 hotheads like smart and cousins on the same team is a recipe for disaster

People said the same thing about Rondo going to Sacramento. By all accounts, Cousins and Rondo became close. Sometimes, you need a guy fluent in knucklehead to get through to the your own resident knucklehead.

Both Kentucky guys.

[Roy H.]

What position are the Pelicans in the playoffs? Cousins joining Davis making 2 top 10 players on one team means they of course steam rolled everyone on their way to the promised land....oh wait, he has still yet to make the playoffs....I am not convinced of anything related to Cousins besides the fact he is an amazing physical player with amazing stats. Maybe his 3rd team will find a way to get him his first playoff visit...

I am sure what Divac wanted from the Celtics would have dwarfed in comparison to what the Pelicans gave away...like 2017, Brown and one of Crowder/Smart and who knows if that would have even been enough for them. I do not fault a team for choosing to setting a bar high with high character players. I am not saying that we do not desperately need a rebounder/center that fits Cousins stats, but we definitely do not need a bad seed with ZERO playoff experience joining us for a gut job of every asset we have acquired that has any worth(Brooklyn Picks and Brown)

If everyone is fine with gutting our team for the hope that Cousins suddenly gets it and becomes a model citizen and suddenly becomes a leader and suddenly becomes an addition on both stats and as a teammate, than that is your choice. I for one would not give away the Brooklyn Picks plus Brown and Smart/Crowder and just hope it all works out in the end.

Maybe it was the biggest opportunity missed and Cousins would have miraculously fell into line and gotten it and finally got to play in a playoff game or maybe it was one of the most fortuitous things that Danny ever did for our franchise...time will tell...

Well, Cousins seemed to "get it" in New Orleans. He had one technical in 17 games.

Unfortunately, the Pelicans are a 3-man roster, and two of those guys play the same position. Their 4th leading scorer was Jordan Crawford!

[Dannys Chipotle Guy]

What position are the Pelicans in the playoffs? Cousins joining Davis making 2 top 10 players on one team means they of course steam rolled everyone on their way to the promised land....oh wait, he has still yet to make the playoffs....I am not convinced of anything related to Cousins besides the fact he is an amazing physical player with amazing stats. Maybe his 3rd team will find a way to get him his first playoff visit...

I am sure what Divac wanted from the Celtics would have dwarfed in comparison to what the Pelicans gave away...like 2017, Brown and one of Crowder/Smart and who knows if that would have even been enough for them. I do not fault a team for choosing to setting a bar high with high character players. I am not saying that we do not desperately need a rebounder/center that fits Cousins stats, but we definitely do not need a bad seed with ZERO playoff experience joining us for a gut job of every asset we have acquired that has any worth(Brooklyn Picks and Brown)

If everyone is fine with gutting our team for the hope that Cousins suddenly gets it and becomes a model citizen and suddenly becomes a leader and suddenly becomes an addition on both stats and as a teammate, than that is your choice. I for one would not give away the Brooklyn Picks plus Brown and Smart/Crowder and just hope it all works out in the end.

Maybe it was the biggest opportunity missed and Cousins would have miraculously fell into line and gotten it and finally got to play in a playoff game or maybe it was one of the most fortuitous things that Danny ever did for our franchise...time will tell...

Well, Cousins seemed to "get it" in New Orleans. He had one technical in 17 games.

Unfortunately, the Pelicans are a 3-man roster, and two of those guys play the same position. Their 4th leading scorer was Jordan Crawford!

Im willing to wait and see with cousins.

the price was low enough that there must be some serious personality stuff there(moreso than even met the eye), but if Cousins goes on to be succesful and ultimately win a lot of games with New Orleans, this deadline is something to look back on as a big missed opportunity.

all that said, Sacremento supposedly wanted Hield specifically and a 2017 pick. Not sure what our equivalent of that is. Brown would defintiely be gone and probably Amir and Nets '17?

[Bobshot]

Stevens has an equal say in personnel ( a mistake in my view), and I doubt he is interested in coaching problem players, or bigs who play mainly inside and protect the rim.  He likes bigs who can play on the perimeter. The last coach who was like that was the infamous Pitino, who was far less a success in Boston, mainly because the GM was not Ainge.

I was floored by Ainge's comment after the trade deadline that "rebounders detract from offense." Especially after he had said "our biggest need is a rim protector." Wow. That smacks of a conflict with his coach, who has said he never was able to recruit good big men at small Butler, so he had to win other ways.

I hope this doesn't mean Ainge would not trade for Bill Russell if he fell into his lap. 

[Dannys Chipotle Guy]

Stevens has an equal say in personnel ( a mistake in my view), and I doubt he is interested in coaching problem players, or bigs who play mainly inside and protect the rim.  He likes bigs who can play on the perimeter. The last coach who was like that was the infamous Pitino, who was far less a success in Boston, mainly because the GM was not Ainge.

I was floored by Ainge's comment after the trade deadline that "rebounders detract from offense." Especially after he had said "our biggest need is a rim protector." Wow. That smacks of a conflict with his coach, who has said he never was able to recruit good big men at small Butler, so he had to win other ways.

I hope this doesn't mean Ainge would not trade for Bill Russell if he fell into his lap. 

"When you just add a rebounder, and he hurts your offense, it defeats the purpose"

that was the actual quote. Rebounders dont necessarily detract from the offense, but if you add a rebounder who hurts you more across the rest of the game than he brings you on the glass than it defeats the purpose.

Ainge might hate rebounding, but he is absolutely correct in this quote. If you bring someone in to grab rebounds but they cant defend the perimeter and stagnate the offense and clog the paint then that player is not a net positive.

[Roy H.]

Stevens has an equal say in personnel ( a mistake in my view), and I doubt he is interested in coaching problem players, or bigs who play mainly inside and protect the rim.  He likes bigs who can play on the perimeter. The last coach who was like that was the infamous Pitino, who was far less a success in Boston, mainly because the GM was not Ainge.

I was floored by Ainge's comment after the trade deadline that "rebounders detract from offense." Especially after he had said "our biggest need is a rim protector." Wow. That smacks of a conflict with his coach, who has said he never was able to recruit good big men at small Butler, so he had to win other ways.

I hope this doesn't mean Ainge would not trade for Bill Russell if he fell into his lap. 

"When you just add a rebounder, and he hurts your offense, it defeats the purpose"

that was the actual quote. Rebounders dont necessarily detract from the offense, but if you add a rebounder who hurts you more across the rest of the game than he brings you on the glass than it defeats the purpose.

Ainge might hate rebounding, but he is absolutely correct in this quote. If you bring someone in to grab rebounds but they cant defend the perimeter and stagnate the offense and clog the paint then that player is not a net positive.

In general, yes. However, there will be matchups where rebounding is such a mismatch that it takes on added importance.

Also, of course, none of that applies to Cousins, who ranges from good to elite as a scorer, rebounder, passer, outside shooter, and defender.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Stevens has an equal say in personnel ( a mistake in my view), and I doubt he is interested in coaching problem players, or bigs who play mainly inside and protect the rim.  He likes bigs who can play on the perimeter. The last coach who was like that was the infamous Pitino, who was far less a success in Boston, mainly because the GM was not Ainge.

I was floored by Ainge's comment after the trade deadline that "rebounders detract from offense." Especially after he had said "our biggest need is a rim protector." Wow. That smacks of a conflict with his coach, who has said he never was able to recruit good big men at small Butler, so he had to win other ways.

I hope this doesn't mean Ainge would not trade for Bill Russell if he fell into his lap. 

"When you just add a rebounder, and he hurts your offense, it defeats the purpose"

Yet Danny has no problem with: "When you add a defensive-minded player, and he hurts the offense, it defeats the purpose."

Keeping drafting those guards who can't shoot, Danny.