Demarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Motiejunas, Davis, Anderson

March 26th, 2017 at 4:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Donatas Motiejunas passed up on a contract that could have paid him as much as $37MM over four years with the Rockets, deciding instead to sign a one-year minimum salary arrangement with the Pelicans. The power forward hasn’t played much in New Orleans, but he doesn’t regret his decision, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes.

“Life is too short to regret for something,” Motiejunas said. “We’ll move aside and look forward. I try not to look at it. At the end, everything is going to be cleared up. Everyone’s going to forget that situation. I try not to think about it.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Motiejunas was “fighting for his rights,” for a fair deal, according to his agent, B.J. Armstrong, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). At the time, Motiejunas was considering options outside the NBA. “It was a long time for me not playing basketball of course,” Motiejunas said. “There were a lot of options, I thought about playing in Europe, a lot of teams were offering me a contract.”
Although the Pelicans‘ February acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins was a good step forward in building a competitive roster around Anthony Davis, the team still has a ways to go, and doesn’t have a ton of flexibility, writes Kevin O’ Connor of The Ringer. Anthony Davis can’t become a free agent until 2020, but if New Orleans doesn’t take steps toward contention soon, speculation about an eventual departure will grow louder.
Ryan Anderson will miss the next two weeks with an ankle injury, Walkins passes along in a full-length piece. The power forward is expected to be back before the end of the season. “The important thing is he can play two or three games before we get into the playoffs,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “And it looks like he will be on that timetable, we won’t push it, and we’ll deal with whatever and hopefully he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”

Milo Taibi contributed to this post

Western Notes: Clippers, Cousins, Harden, Chandler

March 16th, 2017 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers coach and team president Doc Rivers indicated there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll bring in another player in the near future, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register reports. The player could come from the D League or from the buyout market, Oram continues, and would require the club to waive someone from the current 15-man roster. Forward Omri Casspi, who was bought out by the Pelicans, isn’t a likely target despite a recent report that the Clippers had an interest in him, Oram adds.“We’re looking at everything,” Rivers told Oram.

In other developments around the Western Conference:

The NBA rescinded the latest technical assessed to Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins, sources told ESPN.com’s Justin Verrier. The technical, which he was given during a loss to Miami on Wednesday, would have been his 19th this season. He will receive his third one-game suspension this season from the league if he reaches the 20-technical mark.
Rockets guard James Harden said he will hire Diana Day as his agent, Jonathan F eigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Day previously handled marketing and public relations for his former agent, Rob Pelinka. Day must first receive certification from the players association, Feigen adds. Pelinka relinquished his duties as an agent to become the Lakers’ GM.
Veteran center Tyson Chandler could have been dealt to a contender prior to the trade deadline but opted to stay with the Suns, according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic. Chandler told team executives in a meeting prior to a deadline he was content to take a reduced role in Phoenix and aid in the development of the team’s younger players. “I didn’t want to go nowhere,” Chandler told Haller. “I wanted to be with these dudes and finish it out.”
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy believes the Jazz’s signing of veteran swingman Joe Johnson was one of the most underrated moves of the past offseason. Johnson, who inked a two-year, $22MM contract as a free agent, is averaging 8.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.7 APG while shooting over 40% from long range in 22.9 MPG. “I think they made a great acquisition with Joe Johnson,” Van Gundy said. “A lot of people thought Joe was really on the decline and he’s really bounced back.”

And-Ones: Brown, Aldridge, Knicks, Pelicans

March 11th, 2017 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Rookie Jaylen Brown wasn’t projected to make an immediate impact in the league, but he’s impressing the Celtics with his ability to contribute, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes.

“I’m not sure I would have thought that [Brown] would be where he is right now, just because I thought that he had a lot of things that he really would have to improve on to be able to add value to winning at this level,” coach Brad Stevens said. “And he’s proven that he can pick things up on the fly and that he can play at a high level. I know there’s going to be ups and downs with anybody — and certainly with a 20-year-old — but he’s got a chance to be pretty darn good.”

The rookie is averaging 11.6 points per game while shooting 45.8% from behind the arc since the All-Star break, which is the highest mark on the team.

Boston has been patient as it attempts to construct a title contender. Forsberg notes that had the team dealt for Jimmy Butler, Brown would likely be playing for the Bulls. If the Hornets had accepted the bounty of picks for the No. 9 selection in the 2015 draft, Boston would have traded away Brooklyn’s 2016 pick and it wouldn’t have been able to draft Brown.

The Celtics are constantly looking for ways to acquire talent and they are on an endless search for another star. However, due to great asset management and excellent scouting, they may already have everything they are looking for on the roster.

Here’s more from around the league:

Coach Gregg Popovich said LaMarcus Aldridge will undergo more testing to determine the cause of the minor heart arrhythmia he suffered earlier this week, Tom Osborn of Spurs Nation relays. “They did some tests today and they are going to continue it on Monday. He is going to see some people on Monday and based on what they do and see, we’ll know better what we are really looking at. But we don’t know right now,” Popovich said.
The Knicks are trying to get back into the playoff picture, but it may be better for the team to tank with the hopes of landing a higher pick in the upcoming draft, Al Iannazzone of Newsday opines. In his piece, Iannazzone highlights some prospects that could help the franchise compete in the long-term.
The Pelicans have struggled since they acquired DeMarcus Cousins, but John Reid of The Times-Picayune believes it’s a result of the talent around Cousins and Anthony Davis. New Orleans has won just three of eight contests since the trade, though Cousins missed one of the wins because he was suspended.

Pelicans Notes: Cousins, Davis, Crawford

March 9th, 2017 at 8:52pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Pelicans‘ “new-look” roster is struggling, Justin Verrier of ESPN writes. While the blockbuster trade for DeMarcus Cousins brought peak national interest, the Pels currently sit 4.5 games behind Denver for the eighth seed. Anthony Davis had no answers for the team’s recent shortcomings.

“I don’t know the reason. We’re just not making shots,” Davis said. “Guys are in the gym every day practicing those shots and making those shots. But it’s not disrupting everything else we’re doing. Of course, it helps when we make them. Whoever’s shooting, if they’re open, we tell them to keep shooting. That’s the only way it’s going to help our offense.”

The team’s period of adjustment with Boogie and AD has been “jarring,” despite the modest resources the team gave up to acquire Cousins.

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Noel, Cousins, Davis

March 5th, 2017 at 12:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chandler Parsons played in back-to-back games for the first time since signing with the Grizzlies this summer, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. The action came Friday and Saturday against his two former teams, the Mavericks and Rockets, and although he didn’t put up great numbers, Memphis was encouraged to have him on the court. Parsons has battled through a string of injuries since joining the Grizzlies on a four-year, $94MM deal last summer, appearing in just 32 games so far and averaging less than 20 minutes per night. “Look, I signed a four-year deal. I didn’t sign a one-year deal,” Parsons said. “The team expectations for me are to go very slow. It’s going to be a long process.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Nerlens Noel may be claiming the Mavericks‘ starting center spot sooner than expected, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Noel made his first start Friday since joining the team and responded with 15 points and 17 rebounds in a win over the Grizzlies. “He did a good job, very active,” Carlisle said of his new big man. “It’s very difficult to outrebound this team and when you got a guy getting 17, that’s a big part of that. He did a very good job.”
Many thought the Pelicans were a sure thing to grab the final playoff spot after acquiring DeMarcus Cousins, but they’re running out of time to make a postseason push, notes Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. New Orleans was two and a half games behind Denver for the eighth spot in the West when it traded for Cousins on February 25th. Since then, the Pelicans are 1-4, with the only victory coming in a game where Cousins was suspended. They have fallen to 24-38, which puts them in 13th place, four games in back of the Nuggets. “It’s still a work in progress,” Cousins said after Friday’s loss to the Spurs.
Cousins has adapted quickly to life in New Orleans, according to Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. He and Anthony Davis had a minus-11.9 net rating while sharing the court heading into Friday’s game, but individually they have the highest player efficiency ratings in the league since the All-Star break. Despite the struggles, Cousins has found no trouble settling into his new home. “He definitely embraced it all,” Davis said of Cousins’ experience on Fat Tuesday in New Orleans. “He kept telling me he was happy to be here.”

DeMarcus Cousins Suspended One Game By NBA

February 28th, 2017 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Less than a week after making his debut for the Pelicans, DeMarcus Cousins is facing his first suspension as a member of the team. The NBA announced today in a press release that, after receiving his 18th technical foul of the season on Sunday, Cousins has been suspended for one game without pay.

NBA rules call for an automatic one-game suspension after a player’s 16th technical foul of the season, plus additional one-game bans for every two technical fouls after that. Cousins was initially suspended for one game earlier this month as a member of the Kings after picking up his 16th technical of the 2016/17 campaign. He has since been hit with two more techs.

Cousins will miss the Pelicans’ next game on Wednesday night against the Pistons. He’ll also lose 1/110th of his salary for the season, the usual amount for a single-game suspension. Based on his salary of nearly $17MM, that works out to about $154K.

Southwest Notes: Cousins, Pelicans, Noel, Williams

February 26th, 2017 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The pressure is rising in New Orleans after losses in DeMarcus Cousins‘ first two games with the Pelicans, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Many observers anointed New Orleans as the favorite to grab the West’s eighth playoff spot after Monday’s trade, but the Pelicans were embarrassed Thursday at home by the Rockets, then faded late in Saturday’s loss at Dallas. They are now 3 1/2 games behind the Nuggets for the eighth spot with 23 games remaining. Cousins had a spectacular game in his debut with 27 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocks, but scored 12 points on just nine shots last night.

Pelicans commentator David Wesley says Cousins and Anthony Davis haven’t figured out how to co-exist on the court. “Right now, the spacing of the floor is not there,” Wesley said during Saturday’s game. “And with DeMarcus, Anthony, whoever is on the block that’s trying to operate, there are no lanes to operate with. There are no spaces right now to drive the basketball for the guards or the perimeter players. And they’re going to have to figure that out. This is [the] team they have.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Depth at the wing positions could be a problem in New Orleans for the rest of the season, notes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. The trade for Cousins sent Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans and Langston Galloway to Sacramento, and Omri Casspi, who was acquired from the Kings, broke his right thumb in his first game and has been released. The Pelicans will have to get by with temporary acquisitions like Reggie Williams, who signed a 10-day contract Saturday.
The Mavericks were ecstatic with their first look at Nerlens Noel, who was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Sixers, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Noel, who hasn’t practiced yet with his new team, came off the bench Saturday with nine points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes. Dallas views the 22-year-old center as one of its building blocks, even though he will probably be used in a reserve role for the rest of the season. “Noel’s going to be the starting center here,” Carlisle said about Noel’s future role. “I do think he’ll get some starts this year. I just can’t tell you when or how frequently or exactly how it’s going to go. That’s the truth.”
Picking up Lou Williams from the Lakers shows the Rockets are serious about contending for a title this season, writes Fran Blinebury of NBA.com.

Kings’ GM Divac Explains DeMarcus Cousins Trade

February 26th, 2017 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Kings GM Vlade Divac explains his comments about having a better offer for DeMarcus Cousins two days before the deal in an interview with Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee about last week’s shocking trade.

Divac says the offer came from the Pelicans, who were proposing Buddy Hield and two first-round picks, rather than the final package of Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and this year’s first- and second-rounders. He blames the center’s agents, Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana, for driving down Cousins’ price.

“I talked to DeMarcus’ agents to inform them we were having talks, negotiating terms, and they called teams and threatened them,” Divac explained, “saying that if Cousins was traded, he would not sign an extension. [The Pelicans] got scared and dropped it down to a second-round pick. I thought if I waited longer, I would get less. I needed to act.”

Divac also addressed the urgency created by a possible extension for Cousins, recent comments about keeping the big man in Sacramento and the decision to waive Matt Barnes in a wide-ranging discussion. Here are some highlights:

On the decision to pull the trigger on the trade to New Orleans:

“It was a lot of things, but basically, I thought it was time to start over. There was a lot of bad stuff happening here the last five years, a lot of bad habits. There were always issues, many you don’t even know about. Now I believe strongly this was the right thing to do for our future. Now I have a clear vision. This city deserves better, and I want to create that. With DeMarcus’ situation, I basically was stuck.”

Divac explains the stuck comment by noting that the Kings were looking at another non-playoff season with the prospect of either giving Cousins a massive extension this summer or trying to trade him with an expiring contract, which Divac believes would have scared teams away.

On a statement to ESPN earlier this month that Cousins was staying in Sacramento:

“Because I really did not have [good offers] for DeMarcus. In all the conversations I was having with GMs, we weren’t going to get anything. People were scared because of his history. So I felt confident he was going to stay with us, and I was going to work with him, and we would do the best we can. But then I got the offer from the Pelicans a few days before the All-Star Game. That was a difference of, what, two weeks from what I had said to ESPN? Everything changed.”

On recommending anger management therapy for the sometimes volatile star:

“Actually, that happened, and this time, they seemed more receptive. But I wasn’t sure if that was because the contract was coming up or what, so I wasn’t sure how to take it. Again, I wanted change, to start over. Acquire assets, build it right. At the same time play hard, play up-tempo, share the ball. Be a team, grow together.”

On releasing Barnes, who was waived Monday to open a roster spot and allow the deal to be completed:

“I want to build a culture, and he didn’t fit in my culture. Before we were just talking, preaching. But if we’re going to do it, you do it. The good thing about our situation now is that we have some very nice assets, a few more shooting guards, and time to take a look at Willie [Cauley-Stein], Skal [Labissiere] and Malachi Richardson] when he gets healthy, and Georgios Papagiannis. Ty Lawson has been very good for us, and Darren [Collison] is playing well, and he will be a free agent. Kosta [Koufos] has been good. We have [Bogdan] Bogdanovic coming over next season as another asset.”

On taking heat for moving Cousins:

“That’s my job, and I take responsibility. And I totally understand why some fans would be upset. They supported DeMarcus, and I like DeMarcus a lot. But I believe we are going to be in a better position in two years. I want to hear again from these same people in two years. If I’m right, great. If I’m wrong, I’ll step down. But if I go down, I’m going down my way.”

Pelicans Waive Omri Casspi, Sign Reggie Williams

February 25th, 2017 at 12:42pm CST by Milo Taibi

February 25: The Pelicans have now signed Williams to a 10-day contract. The club formally announced the addition in a press release on their official website.

February 24: The Pelicans will waive Omri Casspi and use his roster spot to sign Reggie Williams, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). Casspi, acquired from Sacramento alongside DeMarcus Cousins, suffered a broken thumb in his team debut on Thursday.

Justin Verrier of ESPN initially reported Casspi would miss 4-to-6 weeks with the injury (Twitter link). According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Pelicans felt Casspi’s absence would leave them short-handed on the wing in midst of a playoff hunt. The decision to cut Casspi wasn’t an easy one, as GM Dell Demps resisted the temptation to flip Casspi leading up to the deadline (Twitter links).

If Casspi doesn’t play another game in 2016/17, he’ll have finished the year averaging 6.1 points through a career-low 23 games. As Bobby Marks of The Vertical points out, the Pelicans are only responsible for $906K of Casspi’s salary, unless he’s claimed on waivers (Twitter link).

The 30-year-old Williams appeared in five games with the Pelicans in December, recording 25 points in that span. A veteran of five NBA teams, Williams averaged 18.2 points this season with the D-League’s Oklahoma City Blue. A lifetime 36.6% 3-point shooter, Williams will supplant Casspi as a long distance threat off New Orleans’ bench.

DeMarcus Cousins Talks Vlade, Ranadive, Pelicans

February 24th, 2017 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

During his introductory press conference as a Pelican on Wednesday, DeMarcus Cousins told reporters that the toughest part about the way he was traded by the Kings was Sacramento’s “dishonesty.” As has been widely reported, the Kings publicly and privately insisted Cousins wouldn’t be traded in the weeks and months leading up to the moment that they agreed to send him to the Pelicans.

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Cousins went a step further, suggesting that he views Kings GM Vlade Divac and owner Vivek Ranadive “cowards,” according to Spears. Here are a few of the highlights from Cousins’ candid conversation on the deal and his move from Sacramento to New Orleans:

On whether he wants to talk to Divac or Ranadive:

“Nah. For what? It was a coward move, so I’m pretty sure I will get a coward response. For what? And I’ve seen this happen before. I’ve been there through all same types … I was there with [coach] Mike Malone’s [firing]. I’ve seen how they operate. I know what kind of answer I will get anyway. So, what is the point?”

On when the Kings last told him that he wouldn’t be traded:

“A week before the trade. The sick part about it is that Vlade came in my house with my agent [Jarinn Akana]. We sat in my theater and just talked. That was maybe three weeks ago. We sat there and [he] told me what moves he wanted to make. All of that. I just didn’t understand. … I got a text from the owner right before I went to All-Star. He was asking me about a player, how I felt about him and making a move. The owner! When it happened, I was just in shock. I didn’t understand.”

On whether it will be hard to trust a GM or owner again:

“I’ve always had that issue. I’ve had personal conversations with my agent about that and the whole situation anyway. He tried to steer me in their direction. And I’m like, ‘Nah, I can see through that s—t.’ I’ve always had my doubts. When it comes to that, I’m usually 90%. I knew it. But it was just told to me [no trade] so much.”

On why he still loves Sacramento:

“It’s bigger than basketball. It’s bigger than the Kings organization. It’s bigger than that. The relationships I built out there, I’m more hurt by that. Being away from those relationships and the community, I’m more hurt by that because of the dishonesty and all that s—t with the organization.”

On whether the Pelicans will have a legit shot to keep him for the long term:

“Yeah. I said in the press conference, ‘I’m all in.’ I’m not here to B.S. or waste time. I’m here to win. Whatever the system is, I’m dialed in. I’m all in. I’m not here to waste time.”