DeMarcus Cousins Likes Instagram Comment Saying Pelicans Must Offer Max Contract

Rob Goldberg @TheRobGoldbergFeatured ColumnistMay 21, 2018

New Orleans Pelicans DeMarcus Cousins during the second half of the NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

DeMarcus Cousins is set to enter free agency this summer and apparently he isn't going to settle for anything less than what he believes he is worth.

The center appeared to tip his hand after liking a comment on an Instagram post discussing his future:

Bleacher Report NBA @BR_NBA
Cut the check, Pelicans 👀 https://t.co/wp93Qj8Arf

"Whoever paying the most pretty much," the comment said. "Pels need to offer him the max."

This isn't even the first negative sign regarding a possible return to New Orleans. Cousins also recently unfollowed the Pelicans' account on Instagram, later explaining in a comment, "cause I'm grown," via Ryan Young of Yahoo Sports.

After a torn Achilles cost Cousins the second half of his season, the Pelicans have internally considered a "two- or three-year deal at less than the max," per Zach Lowe of ESPN. If this is the best the team can do, the 27-year-old is likely heading to a new team in 2018-19.