DeMarcus Cousins Rumors: Knicks Weighing 'Considerable' 1-Year Contract Offer
June 27, 2019
If the New York Knicks miss out on Kevin Durant, they apparently plan to target another Golden State Warriors free agent.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Knicks are "weighing the prospect of extending a considerable one-year offer" to veteran center DeMarcus Cousins.
The team will likely focus on short-term offers if it fails to land its top targets of Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard, per Stein.
Without the addition of an All-NBA player, the Knicks will likely remain far from contention next season after finishing with a league-worst 17-65 record in 2018-19. No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett will add another exciting offensive weapon, but there are still plenty of question marks throughout the roster.
Instead of getting into long-term trouble with bad contracts like with Joakim Noah, it would be smart for New York to keep its flexibility going forward with short-term deals.
Per Spotrac, the team ranks second in the NBA with $60 million worth of practical cap space.
Using this space on a player like Cousins could help the team next year without slowing down the rebuilding process.
The 28-year-old only appeared in 30 regular-season games last season while recovering from a torn Achilles, but he averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game despite sharing touches with stars like Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
With another year removed from his Achilles injury and fewer alternatives on the roster, Cousins has a chance to return to his previous level as a four-time All-Star.
If he lives up to expectations, the Knicks could then figure out how to make him part of their future.