Former All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins called out former New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps when discussing his time playing alongside fellow big man Anthony Davis in New Orleans.
Cousins shared that he thought the Pelicans could have become title contenders. They had players like Davis, Cousins and Jrue Holiday leading the way. But in the end, Cousins’ stint with the team didn’t last very long.
Cousins was initially traded to New Orleans during the 2016-17 season, appearing in 17 games with the franchise before the end of the campaign. The following season (the 2017-18 campaign), both Cousins and Davis were named to the All-Star Game, and New Orleans eventually went on to win 48 games in the regular season.
Unfortunately, Cousins’ 2017-18 season was cut short, as he played in just 48 games due to an Achilles injury.
“I don’t think the year that I blew my Achilles it would have happened, but they would have kept that squad together, we definitely would have made a run, at least by Year 2, I believe,” Cousins said.
“But it’s some dumba– GMs out there – shoutout to Dell Demps.”
Cousins was then asked if he thought that he and Davis could have been the best duo in NBA history if they had stayed together.
“In NBA history?” Cousins asked. “That’s tough to say. That’s tough to say when you’ve got guys like Tim Duncan and David Robinson as teammates and everything they’ve accomplished, but I think we could have been in the conversation, and I definitely think we had the talent to even be mentioned next to those guys. But obviously, we ain’t accomplish s—, so it’s not really nothin’ to talk about, but from a talent aspect, I think we either 1A, 1B or close second.”
In the 2017-18 season, Cousins averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from 3. He also chipped in 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per night.
New Orleans still made the Western Conference semifinals that season, but fans can only wonder how far the team would have gone had Cousins been in the lineup.
The Pelicans didn’t end up giving the duo of Davis and Cousins another shot after that season. Cousins eventually signed with the Golden State Warriors for the 2018-19 campaign, where he was able to experience a run to the NBA Finals that ended just short of a championship.
As for Davis, he played one more season in New Orleans before he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the 2019-20 season. Demps was no longer in charge at the time of the trade. In his first season in Los Angeles, Davis helped lead the Lakers to an NBA title alongside fellow star LeBron James.
While Cousins’ injury certainly derailed the Pelicans’ plans, he and NBA fans can only wonder what the franchise would have been able to accomplish if it had kept him and Davis together.
