Southwest Notes: Cousins, Holiday, Noel

The Pelicans added Rajon Rondo this offseason and DeMarcus Cousins is thrilled about the addition, as he tells Chris Mannix of The Vertical.

“Rajon is like a big brother to me,” Cousins said. “He taught me a lot in that one season we had together. Our relationship remained strong and we always thought we’d wind up being teammates again later down the road. I never expected it to be this soon, but I’m also happy about it.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • The decision to play Jrue Holiday off the ball was forced upon the Pelicans because of their cap concerns, James Blancarte of Basketball Insiders explains. The team didn’t have much flexibility to add shooting this offseason, so moving Holiday—someone who’s a career 36.6% three-point shooter— off the ball adds a dimension to the offense without bringing in an expensive wing.
  • Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News speculates that the Mavericks will complete a deal with Nerlens Noel before training camp begins. However, the scribe notes that nothing has to happen until October 16 when the center’s qualifying offer expires.
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