Perhaps the most surprising thing about the New Orleans Pelicans’ first round sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers was that it occurred while DeMarcus Cousins was on the sidelines. The Pelicans managed to look like a legitimately dangerous squad, even though Anthony Davis’ partner in the frontcourt hadn’t played in months due to a torn achilles.
Cousins’ season came to an unceremonious end, which gave him the opportunity to think about his impending free agency far earlier than anyone would have liked. As for what Cousins is going to do, well, that’s anyone’s guess, as the All-Star big man doesn’t even sound like he knows what the future holds just yet.
Cousins spoke to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated about his rehab and his mindset going into the summer. He gave a timetable for a return — “I’m shooting to be ready for training camp,” Cousins said — before diving into where he could end up next year. In Boogie’s eyes, the Pelicans are firmly in the running to retain his services, but anything is possible.
“Yeah, like I said I don’t plan on rushing through this process,” Cousins said. “I’m going to make the absolute best decision for DeMarcus Cousins. We’ll see what that is. As of right now, I don’t really know. I can’t answer that. Would I like to go back to New Orleans? I’m very open to that. I love what we created. I love what was created after I went down. I would love to be part of it. But I’m going to do what’s best for me, and I feel they’ll do the same.”
There’s some risk associated with giving a huge deal to a soon-to-be 28-year-old center coming off of a torn achilles, but Cousins is the kind of player who is worth that risk if he’s able to bounce back as strong as ever. Perhaps New Orleans retains his services, or perhaps one of the other 29 NBA teams will land one of the biggest fishes in the free agent pond. Either way, it’ll just be good to see Cousins on the floor again.
(Via The Undefeated)
