NBA Rumors: Latest on Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins in Free Agency
When it comes to NBA rumors, two names are dominating the discussion now: Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins.
They control the future landscape of the league. Other names like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have already made head-turning decisions, but the two remaining major free agents could end up having a bigger impact than any of the deals made already.
Leonard, after all, could decide to join forces with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Rest assured, the entire Eastern Conference is watching this situation carefully. And the better-than-expected Cousins after his injuries seems to be just getting back into best-in-class form, yet he may come as a value buy for a contender.
These are the latest rumblings surrounding both.
Kawhi Leonard
Leonard was always the biggest mystery entering the free-agent period.
After all, Leonard's last flirtation with changing teams was a wild affair before the odd journey ended up with his landing with the Toronto Raptors and going on to win the title.
Right on cue, while other major free-agent dominoes were falling over the weekend, Leonard wasn't even 100 percent confirmed to have started the process of talking with other teams, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.
That has changed since, of course, with the Raptors still heavily in pursuit of Leonard, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times: "The Raptors haven't backed off one centimeter and Drake is said to be mounting his own recruiting campaign on top of whatever the freshly minted champions are doing to convince him to stay."
But this doesn't appear to have impacted how the Lakers feel, either. Stein reported both the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers are "determined to say as little as possible" because of Leonard's insistence of no leaks.
But it's the Lakers who feel like they are in the lead: "The Lakers, as we've been saying for more than a week now, believe they are firmly in the lead largely through the recruiting efforts and assurances made on separate fronts from Magic Johnson and LeBron James."
In other words, all teams are strictly playing by Leonard's rules and think they have a chance, at least in part, because of the big names they've had assist on the recruiting trail.
Each team isn't hard to figure out in terms of what they offer. The Lakers boast a LeBron partnership and even a solid post-LeBron outlook thanks to Anthony Davis. The Clippers aren't an instant contender in the Western Conference, but they seem close and still offer the Los Angeles stardom angle.
Then there are the Raptors, who offer mostly the same championship core, and there hasn't been enough change in the East to suggest their status as contenders will fade. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN had reported Thursday that the Raptors will get the last shot at Leonard regardless of what happens.
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins is the continued victim of bad luck, plain and simple.
The star center, besides the well-known injury issues, had to watch this offseason as a stacked center market dissolved quickly. Al Horford went to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Orlando Magic didn't even let Nikola Vucevic slip into the market. Nerlens Noel, Marc Gasol and DeAndre Jordan are a sampling of the other names with new deals or about to have them.
That, in part, has Cousins sitting on the market with a bleak outlook, as Wojnarowski pointed out while reporting that he might not even land a mid-level exception.
Injury issues have played a big role here, too. Cousins is 28 years old with two consecutive seasons derailed by injuries. He appeared in 48 games in 2017-18 before tearing his Achilles and going to the Golden State Warriors on a one-year mid-level exception.
Even so, Cousins' eventual comeback was actually better than expected. He put up 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 48 percent from the floor in 30 appearances. But an injury popped up again and limited him in the playoffs until the Finals, when he pitched in and looked great when given a chance against Toronto. He chipped in double-digit points in three out of six games over 18.2 minutes.
In short, the production is there, but the consistent attendance on the court simply isn't. There's another angle to consider too—at least reportedly. Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reported on this side of things: "Much has been made of the continued availability of DeMarcus Cousins. According to source, Celtics are not interested. Don't want the potential drama."
That is at least one angle to keep in mind, though Boston is a bit of a unique situation. Cousins had some well-known run-ins with technical foul issues as a member of the Sacramento Kings. But the Celtics are drama-averse more so than most teams after the constant speculation about losing Irving.
At some point, a market will materialize for an under-30 four-time All-Star who could easily be back on the upswing of his career if he can get a little luckier in the health department. Whether it comes on a bargain deal for a contender and what Cousins is ultimately willing to settle for now makes for one of the most interesting storylines of the offseason.
