Don’t close the door on DeMarcus Cousins joining the Boston Celtics just yet, Green Teamers.
The polarizing big man is an unrestricted free agent, fresh off a one-season stint with the Golden State Warriors and a year removed from tearing his Achilles. Cousins didn’t inspire much confidence in Golden State, but when healthy, he remains one of the NBA’s most talented players, and his skill set would be a great addition to Boston’s post-Al Horford frontcourt.
Late Monday night, a little-known NBA reporter claimed the Celtics were planning to meet with Cousins. That report later was refuted by NBA insider Keith Smith, who said Cousins likely wouldn’t expect a veteran minimum salary, making the prospect of the 28-year-old joining the cap-crunched Celtics a longshot.
But what if Cousins is in a position to accept any contract offered to him? What if the money required to get him is so negligible that you could afford to take a risk on an injury-prone player with a reputation for being an awful teammate?
During an appearance Monday night on “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt,” Adrian Wojnarowski reported that there is “no market” for Cousins in free agency. In fact, Wojnarowski believes teams aren’t even willing to offer their mid-level exception for the former All-Star.
(The Warriors used the mid-level exception last year to sign Cousins to a one-year, $5.3 million deal.)
Take a look:
Despite Wojnarowski’s report, there’s no reason to believe that there’s mutual interest between Cousins and the Celtics. Furthermore, given Boston’s efforts to quarantine its once-toxic locker room, it’s hard to imagine Danny Ainge welcoming someone like Cousins, one of the NBA’s true dogs.
Still, Boston surely isn’t resigned to being a middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference team. You don’t sign Kemba Walker if your goal is to be a fifth seed. The fact is that the Celtics need a big man who can stretch the floor (sorry, Enes Kanter) and Cousins is the league’s most talented center not named Anthony Davis.
And, if Wojnarowski is to be believed, Boston seemingly could add Cousins on cheap money, if it wants to.
We’re not saying it’s likely, nor are we saying it makes sense. We’re just saying it reportedly is possible.
