Southwest Notes: Boogie/Brow, Randolph, Barea

The Pelicans still have a ways to go following their acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes. Anthony Davis won’t become a free agent until 2020, but if Pelicans ownership doesn’t build a better team around him by then, Davis could leave for greener pastures.

“Cousins is a talented, ball-dominant player, but his biggest talent diminishes Davis’s value,” O’Connor writes. “The Brow’s worst offensive skill is his 3-point shooting, yet when Cousins bulldozes defenders, all Davis can do is float around the arc.”

The ‘elephant in the room’ regarding the Cousins deal, O’Connor writes, is Boogie’s agent stating it is “highly unlikely” DeMarcus would sign an extension following a trade. Despite acquiring Cousins for excellent value, his departure would leave the Pelicans back at square one.

“Right now the Pelicans are a team with zero title hopes, clinging to 8-seed dreams,” O’Connor concludes. “Over league history, stars stuck in those spots don’t stick around too often. Maybe things will be different with Davis, but it won’t be unless the Pelicans make drastic changes before time’s up.”

More from around the Southwest…

  • Grizzlies vet Zach Randolph shared his memories of playing in the tournament with Michigan State. “When we went to the Final Four. Playing in front of our home crowd and having all the State fans being there in a big arena, it was a great experience,” Z-Bo told Grizzlies.com. Vince Carter also spoke about the experience of participating in March Madness, talking up the Final Four-bound Tar Heels. “I think they’ve established themselves as a one seed,” Carter said. “It’s all about luck and a little opportunity, but I think if they just stay disciplined and be who they are, they should be ok.”
  • Donatas Motiejunas spoke about the contract debacle he endured with the Rockets. “I try not to look at it. At the end, everything is going to be cleared up,” D-Mo told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle“It was a long time for me not playing basketball of course. There were a lot of options, I thought about playing in Europe, a lot of teams were offering me a contract.” A free agent-to-be, Montiejunas has accumulated four DNPs in New Orleans’ last seven games.
  • Mavs coach Rick Carlisle liked the aggression his team showed following J.J. Barea‘s altercation with Blake Griffin. “That was such a blatant flop, I mean how physical did you think it was?” Carlisle told Eddie Sefko of Dallas News. “The nature of that play was aggressive. It got our fans going. I think it got us going. And it was kind of one of those situations where you take a stand. And that’s how it’s got to be from here on out for our team.” While the original ruling on the court was a Flagrant-2 foul on Barea, Carlisle hopes the league can overturn the call.
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