Alvin Gentry: 'It Goes Without Saying' Pelicans Want DeMarcus Cousins to Re-Sign

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry made it clear Tuesday that he wants center DeMarcus Cousins with the team over the long haul.

After the Pels were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs by virtue of a 113-104 Game 5 loss to the Golden State Warriors, Gentry told Christopher Dabe of the Times-Picayune: "Obviously the guy is averaging 26 points and 12 rebounds. You'd like to have him on your team. I think that goes without saying."

Cousins missed most of the second half of the regular season and New Orleans' entire playoff run after tearing his Achilles.

He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Prior to his season-ending injury, Cousins was named a Western Conference All-Star and averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 48 games.

Those rebound and assist numbers represented career highs for the former Sacramento King.

New Orleans acquired Cousins in a trade with the Kings during the 2016-17 season, and after an initial feeling-out process, he meshed well with superstar power forward Anthony Davis.

Despite Cousins' absence, the Pelicans advanced out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history since 2007-08, when they were the New Orleans Hornets.

In addition to the play of Davis and guards Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo, a big reason for New Orleans' success down the stretch and in the playoffs was the arrival of forward Nikola Mirotic.

The Pelicans acquired Mirotic from the Chicago Bulls after Cousins went down, and he averaged 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in 30 regular-season contests with the Pels. Mirotic has one year remaining on his contract before he can become a free agent.

Cousins is in line to land a max contract due to his incredible production level, and although the Pelicans were strong without him, retaining him may be the key to getting past the West's elite teams in Golden State and Houston.