DeMarcus Cousins Trade Rumors: Pelicans Haven't Taken Offers for Star Center
The New Orleans Pelicans are not trading DeMarcus Cousins.
On Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the Pelicans have not been willing to listen to offers on Cousins, and the team wants to sign him to a new contract this offseason.
Cousins, 27, is averaging 25.9 points, 12.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this season. He will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
The Pelicans traded for Cousins last February, hoping a pairing with Anthony Davis would give them the most feared frontcourt in basketball. Cousins and Davis remain franchise-cornerstone superstars, but they are surrounded by a shaky supporting cast aside from Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore. New Orleans' offense collapses when Cousins and Davis sit, so head coach Alvin Gentry has tried to keep at least one of his two star bigs on the floor at all times.
Cousins, Davis, Holiday and Dante Cunningham are the only four players on the Pelicans with a positive net rating, per NBA.com.
"A.D. hits me with little jabs about free agency all the time, but he also understands," Cousins said in December, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. "It was Jrue in that situation last [offseason], and we understood his situation. Of course, they throw their little jabs. They throw their little jokes. But they are serious at the same time. They are respectful about it at the same time.
"They have been great about it. It's never been like a pressure thing. But I know where their heart is and they know where mine is. We have a great understanding."
The Pelicans can offer Cousins an extra year and roughly $30 million more than any other team on his next contract. That additional year of security may not be as enticing to Cousins, however, because he could otherwise dip his toes back into free agency earlier. Should he sign a four-year deal with a player option with another franchise, he could hit the market again as a 10-year veteran and command a maximum salary of up to 35 percent of the league's salary cap.
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