DeMarcus Cousins Rumors: Celtics Not Interested in FA Due to 'Potential Drama'

The Boston Celtics are reportedly not interested in signing free-agent big man DeMarcus Cousins.

According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, the Celtics' lack of interest stems from them wanting to avoid any "potential drama" Cousins may bring.

Cousins signed a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors last offseason while recovering from a torn Achilles and went on to appear in 30 regular-season games and eight playoff contests.

DeMarcus Cousins Highlight Reel

Few teams dealt with as much drama as the Celtics last season. After reaching Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018 despite the absences of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward because of injury, expectations were high during the 2018-19 season.

The possibility of Irving's departure in free agency loomed large throughout the campaign, and both he and Hayward struggled to mesh with Boston's young stars in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier. Ultimately, Boston was eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs.

With Irving reportedly agreeing to join the Brooklyn Nets in free agency and Boston coming to terms with Kemba Walker to replace him, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celtics are hoping for a drama-free environment in 2019-20.

Precisely what kind of drama they're reportedly hoping to avoid with Cousins is unclear, though.

Cousins did have some issues during his time with the Sacramento Kings. He was suspended a couple of times after verbal altercations and often clashed with then-head coach George Karl.

He was largely a model citizen with the New Orleans Pelicans and Warriors over the past three seasons, although he has displayed an on-court temper at times. Despite appearing in just 30 regular-season games last season, Cousins had seven technical fouls. 

Boston also may be shying away from Cousins because he is no longer a good fit after the team reportedly agreed to a deal with center Enes Kanter, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Since Kanter is offensively minded, the Celtics may be in search of a better defensive big, which isn't Cousins' greatest strength.

Appearing Monday night on SportsCenter, Wojnarowski reported that Cousins could struggle to receive a mid-level exception from a team in free agency, which would pay him just over $9 million for one year:

That represents a significant fall from grace for a four-time All-Star who averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in 48 starts in 2017-18.

With Golden State, Cousins' production dropped to 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per contest last season. He is now further removed from the Achilles tear, but he suffered a torn quad during the playoffs, although he returned for the NBA Finals.

While Boogie may not be in the mix, the Celtics could still use some frontcourt depth after Aron Baynes was traded to the Phoenix Suns and Al Horford agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, per Wojnarowski.