DeMarcus Cousins Stunned The Basketball World By Agreeing To A Deal With The Warriors

When DeMarcus Cousins suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in January, there were direct consequences for both the former Kentucky standout and the New Orleans Pelicans. The team rallied to an impressive finish behind Anthony Davis but, given the ill-timed nature of the injury on the precipice of free agency, Cousins wasn’t in quite the same commanding position entering July 1 as he would have been with a clean bill of healthy.

Ultimately, though, the All-Star big man elected to pull the trigger on a deal that should terrify the entire NBA. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, Cousins agreed to join forces with the Golden State Warriors. The report was confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Wojnarowski also confirmed that Cousins will get a relatively meager payday from the two-time defending champions as he works to bounce back from injury.

Prior to the injury, Cousins was in the midst of another fantastic statistical season for New Orleans. The veteran center, who will turn 28 years old in August, averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per contest in 48 games and, even with some defensive concerns, it is easy to see why Cousins would command big money on the market. That didn’t happen, though, and time will tell what that means about his injury recovery.

Still, this is an absolutely insane marriage between player and team. If the Warriors have any holes on their roster, it’s at center, and when he’s healthy, Cousins is among the best in the league at the position. Once he’s back to 100 percent, Cousins will make the Warriors even scarier, which is a sobering thought for the NBA’s other 29 teams.