Overblown: Why DeMarcus Cousins Is Completely Worth It for the Kings
Two Kings players—DeMarcus Cousins and Francisco Garcia—participated in the two matchups between the Dominican Republic and the Kentucky Wildcats Pros last week, both of which were won by the Dominican Republic. In the middle of the contest on Monday, Cousins and Garcia got slightly tied up, and Cousins roughly pushed Garcia out of the way.
Given Cousins reputation as disruptive, it wasn’t surprising to see people point to the incident as proof that Cousins is a dirty player who isn’t a good enough talent to outweigh the problems he brings; a ludicrous statement to begin with, even had the “incident” been an incident. Cousins and Garcia high-fived afterwards, joked and hugged before the end of the game. But a non-issue fit with Cousins picture as a problem child and the fact that he and Garcia were friends got ignored.
There’s no question that DeMarcus Cousins needs to grow up. The two incidents off the court last year—one with his coaching staff, and one with fellow player Donte Greene—proved that. Any Kings fan who watched him play last year could also see his immaturity on the court as well, where he made many poor decisions and got increasingly discouraged when things didn’t go his way.
But Cousins issues are overblown. They exist, but they should not be the first thing that comes to mind when his name is mentioned. He has far too much talent for that.
His 43 percent season shooting was ugly. His bad shots and boneheaded fouls made Kings fans wince. But when guard Tyreke Evans sat with foot issues, Cousins was clearly the best player on the Kings and when he was good, he was great.
He’s got a strong back to the basket game, and his intimidating size and quick feet make him difficult to guard. He’s also got real solid range for his size, and while he takes too many jumpers, he is a solid shooter. His defense improved exceptionally as the year went on, especially as he began to learn how to defend without fouling. And his passing reminds Kings fans of the days of Webber, Vlade and Miller, back when bigs had the court vision and passing skills to scare defenders in multiple ways.
28 points, eight boards and six assists and the key baskets in a 95-89 comeback win over Phoenix on January 2nd. 27 points, 10 boards and three steals in a 105-100 victory against the Lakers in Los Angeles on January 28th. 29 points and seven boards against Dwight Howard and the Magic in a 106-102 loss on March 9th. Cousins has to deal with many issues—both on and off the court—but his talent and potential dwarf any issues.
And yes, the problems are there and they are not ignorable. Earlier in the season, Cousins was kicked out of practice and fined after an incident with head coach Paul Westphal. In mid-February, Cousins was fined again and suspended a game after an altercation with Greene in the locker room after Greene didn’t pass him the ball for the final shot in a 99-97 loss to Oklahoma City.
Cousins apologized both times, and Kings GM Geoff Petrie and head coach Westphal said they put the issues behind them. But while the rumblings about Cousins never did die, the incidents did. Cousins had no more problems between the Greene incident and the end of the season.
But the biggest thing to remember about the Kings—they’re young. Their oldest player last year was Garcia, one of only two Kings (Samuel Dalembert the other) who were 30 or older at the start of the season. And the Kings best players? Tyreke Evans was 21, Omri Casspi 23, Marcus Thornton was 24 and Cousins had just turned 21 when he played his first game.
The team lacked any sort of floor leadership, and while Westphal obviously did a great deal of work with Cousins, the Kings didn’t have any kind of respected veteran. This is the biggest need the Kings have going into this season if they want all their players—Cousins included—to grow up.
And while Cousins’ fiery personality will—apparently—never stop being criticized, there’s also a positive side to it. Cousins is determined to win, and he has a passion that many players lack. Offer the Kings a slightly less talented player with a cooler head and they’d be stupid to take it, because for every issue his passion raises with Cousins, it also is a huge part of his overall potential.
Cousins is just 21, a young kid caught up in a whirlwind of expectations and talent. When he learns to harness that temper and turn it completely into a will-to-win, he can become one of the best bigs in the league. And anyone who feels he isn’t worth the bumps in the road—which is all these ‘problems’ currently are—are kidding themselves.
