I wasn't afraid of the Warriors in 2018. I thought at the beginning of the playoffs that the Cs not only had a better chance to make the finals, but were one of the best-equipped teams to take them down, without Hayward or Irving.
The Warriors looked better in the finals, but they looked pretty bad (for them) in the rest of the playoffs. Curry wasn't right. Durant wasn't fitting into their offense quite right. Green looked slow and inefficient.
I would have been more nervous if they signed some like Ariza or Bradley.
Signing Cousins changes the entire way they play. The court won't be as open. The ball won't move around as well. The defense won't be switchy.
As an opposing coach, if I had to choose between a Curry-Green pick-and-roll, Durant ISO, Thompson 3, or a Cousins post iso, I'd pick the Cousins post ISO every time.
Especially considering the fact that Cousins is coming off an injury and was already one of the most blocked guys in the league, I'd beg them to throw it into Cousins against Baynes and let him try to create. Let the Warriors' offense slow down. Let them stop moving the ball.
This smells a lot like the Payton-Malone or Howard-Nash move for the Lakers in the early 2000s. Everybody bemoaning this and assuming that because it works in 2K, it'll work in real life. Real basketball is different. It's a game of rhythm and feel with your teammates. Rhythm and feel were the qualities that made the Warriors so good -- I think Cousins will take away from that.
That's assuming he even plays this season.