The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the NBA’s hottest teams right now, having won nine in a row to move into the fourth spot in the Western Conference. The Pelicans occupying a top four seed this late in the season would’ve been stunning to most prior to the season, but it’s an even more shocking development when you consider they’re doing so without one of their All-Star big men.
When DeMarcus Cousins went down with an Achilles injury that would end his season, few gave New Orleans much of a chance to hold on for a postseason spot, much less improve their standing out West. However, Anthony Davis has had other ideas, dominating the opposition to carry the load for the Pelicans without his frontcourt running mate.
The Pelicans have also seen a healthy Jrue Holiday come back to form as their backcourt leader, and complementary pieces are hitting timely shots and providing quality defense around those two. New Orleans is playing great basketball right now, which is good for them in the short term and also the long term when it comes to Cousins’ free agency status this summer.
How Cousins’ injury impacts the market for him is yet to be determined, but New Orleans has made it clear they want the All-Star center back and Davis is leading the push to get him re-signed. New Orleans’ willingness to give him a great deal will be the primary factor in him returning, but if money is equal between the Pelicans and other teams, Davis says he’s going to be “selling the dream” to Boogie about what they can be in the future together, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.
With an assist from my pal @shauntellowe … here's a sample from this week's @nytimes NBA newsletter in which @AntDavis23 discusses his determination to convince @boogiecousins to stay in New Orleans this summer: pic.twitter.com/7Nv1gX9FlI
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 7, 2018
Davis notes he’s confident Boogie will be back and there are plenty of reasons to believe Cousins would choose to return to the Pelicans. It’s clear he and Davis have a strong relationship on and off the court, and prior to the injury they were clicking incredibly well as both earned starting spots on the All-Star team. Cousins’ ability to space the floor makes him the perfect complement to Davis, as the two are so incredibly unique and balanced in their abilities to handle the ball, pass, shoot from the perimeter and operate down low.
Davis will be selling Cousins on that on court chemistry, but what may be an even bigger selling point is what New Orleans does in this run to the postseason. By proving they have a group capable of this kind of play and being a playoff caliber squad, the Pelicans can sell Boogie on the potential to be that much better with him in the lineup too. We won’t know what offers Cousins will get from New Orleans and others until July, but it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if he re-ups to stay with his current squad.
