Puma has made waves ever since it decided to get back into the basketball sneaker game. It’s signed a number of prominent rookies to sneaker deals — including the top two picks in the 2018 NBA Draft in Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III — while also shoring up deals with the WNBA and a few NBA veterans like Terry Rozier and Rudy Gay.
But the one thing that Puma had been missing was a superstar basketball player to serve as the face of the brand. That is on the verge of changing, as Nick DePaula of ESPN reports that DeMarcus Cousins has signed a deal with the company, putting Puma on the verge of its biggest win since relaunching as a hoops footwear brand. The only issue is that Nike, to which Cousins is already signed, has the ability to match Puma’s deal and retain Cousins on their loaded roster of athletes.
BREAKING: Warriors All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has signed a lucrative multi-year shoe deal with PUMA to headline their basketball relaunch.
Nike will have 10 days to decide to exercise their “match clause” rights. pic.twitter.com/FjBDknXqe6
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) October 4, 2018
The news was confirmed by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Sources: Golden State Warriors All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has signed a multiyear endorsement deal with Puma. Cousins had been endorsed by Nike.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 4, 2018
It makes sense that Cousins would want to leave Nike — as we mentioned, the company’s list of athletes in the world of hoops and beyond is comically loaded, and going to Puma gives him the opportunity to be the man for a company that has put in a ton of work this summer to carve out a niche in the sneaker game. While it may be a while until we see Cousins on the basketball court again due to the achilles injury he suffered this past season, we’ll know soon what the Golden State Warriors’ newest star will have on his feet when he makes his return to the floor.
