DeMarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Notes: Offseason, Rondo, Cousins, Okafor

May 9th, 2018 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

While the Pelicans’ season came to an end on Tuesday night in Golden State, there’s reason for optimism in New Orleans going forward, writes Ron Higgins of The Times-Picayune. As Higgins details, head coach Alvin Gentry said after the game that he believes the Pelicans are “headed in the right direction as a franchise,” praising Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday as long-term anchors.

The 2017/18 season was also one of redemption for general manager Dell Demps, says Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. Demps was believed to be on the hot seat a year ago, but kept his job and saw the roster he built blossom during the eighth year of his tenure in New Orleans.

Demps’ decision to sign Rajon Rondo to a one-year, $3.3MM deal last offseason was one of his best moves in recent memory, as Duncan notes. In Higgins’ view, re-signing Rondo to a new contract in the coming months should be at or near the top of Demps’ list of priorities. It’s imperative that the team bring back at least one – or both – of Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins in order to continue its uphill climb, Higgins contends.

Here’s more on the Pelicans as their offseason gets underway:

Asked after the game about whether he wants the Pelicans to re-sign Cousins, Gentry suggested it “goes without saying” that he’d want the big man back. “That’s something we’ll discuss,” Gentry said, per Ben Golliver of SI.com (video link). “The guy is averaging 26 points and 12 points, you’d like to have him on your team.”
The Cousins situation will be the biggest question for the Pelicans to answer this summer, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) writes in his preview of the team’s offseason. As Marks outlines, letting Cousins walk wouldn’t open up cap space, and moving him in a sign-and-trade probably isn’t realistic, so the Pels should make a strong effort to re-sign him. However, New Orleans will also have to be careful not to overpay a player coming off a major Achilles injury, especially given the luxury-tax implications.
In his end-of-season look at New Orleans’ next moves, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer suggests that a Cousins/Otto Porter trade would make sense for both the Pelicans and the Wizards. However, as Marks details in his article, a straight-up swap of the two wouldn’t work within CBA rules, so some maneuvering would be required.
Having returned to the NBA this season following a layoff of nearly five years, veteran center Emeka Okafor is eager to continue his career in 2018/19, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “I want to play as long as I can,” Okafor said. “We’ll see with New Orleans. … It’s sports. You don’t know. I know my profession. I know anything can happen. But I am very happy to be here. I’m having a great time, and it feels like home.”

Heat Notes: Whiteside, Riley, Winslow, Dragic

May 5th, 2018 at 8:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans may be a team to watch as the Heat try to trade Hassan Whiteside this summer, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. After DeMarcus Cousins‘ Achilles injury, New Orleans is having second thoughts about offering him a max contract covering five years, preferring a two- or three-year deal at a reduced amount. If that impasse can’t be resolved, Jackson proposes a sign-and-trade involving Whiteside and other players, possibly including Justise Winslow.

Jackson, who notes that there’s strong support in the Miami front office to move on from Whiteside, examines a few other options, stating that the Trail Blazers and Mavericks planned to contact Whiteside when he was a free agent two years ago, but may be less interested now.

Another consideration is whether the Heat want to open up cap room for 2019 by trading Whiteside, who has two seasons and $52MM left on his contract, for an expiring deal. Jackson adds that Miami has to unload Whiteside and at least one more significant salary to be able to compete for a stellar free agent class.

There’s more tonight from Miami:

If the Heat can’t find a trading partner for Whiteside, team president Pat Riley indicated he will intervene in any future disputes between his center and coach Erik Spoelstra, Jackson adds in the same story. Riley also stated that Whiteside will need to adjust his game to fit the modern style. “You’ve got these quintessential sort of centers that are being forced to play a certain game because the game has changed and there’s only one or two or three teams that can play that game,” Riley said, “because three or four transformative players can make that game effective. So, how do we make him effective?”
Among the Heat’s many offseason decisions is whether to offer an extension to Winslow or let him become a restricted free agent in 2019, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. After missing most of 2016/17 after shoulder surgery, Winslow bounced back with a solid year, playing 68 games and putting together a strong showing in the playoffs. “I’m in a much better state mentally than I was a year ago,” he said. “But none of these things are easy, dealing with stuff throughout this year, just the mental aspect of the NBA is tough and you’ve seen a lot of guys speaking out about it.”
Although no one on the Heat roster is guaranteed to be with the team in the fall, point guard Goran Dragic told Riley that he definitely wants to stay in Miami, relays the Associated Press. “This is where I want to be,” said Dragic, who has another season left on his contract, plus an option year. “Everything here, it’s the way I want it.”

Pelicans Notes: Holiday, Davis, Cousins, Gentry

April 25th, 2018 at 5:02pm CST by clarkcrum

A primary factor in the Pelicans’ success so far this season – which now includes a sweep of the higher-seeded Trail Blazers in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs – has been the stellar play of combo guard Jrue Holiday, writes Matt John of Basketball Insiders.

Having been somewhat hampered by injuries and personal matters since the Pelicans traded for him in the summer of 2013, Holiday has been a revelation so far this postseason, having increased his scoring output from 19.0 PPG in the regular season – a career-high – to 27.8 PPG in the playoffs, while also playing stifling defense on Portland’s All-Star point guard Damian Lillard.

Yet, the advanced statistics demonstrate that Holiday has actually been playing at an All-Star level all season long, regardless of whether the casual basketball fan realized it or not. For example, the Pelicans had an offensive rating of 108.9 points per 100 possessions when he was the on the court – would have ranked 7th – compared to 104.4 points per 100 possessions when he was off – would have ranked 21st.

Holiday was even more important to the Pelicans on the defensive end of the floor, where the team had a defensive rating of 103.3 per 100 possessions when Holiday was on the court – would have ranked 5th – compared to 112.3 off the court – would have ranked dead last, 30th overall.

Holiday’s net rating was also higher than that of Pelicans MVP-candidate teammate Anthony Davis, and his 3.81 Real Plus-Minus ranked ninth among point guards, which put him ahead of Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Goran Dragic, all of whom made the All-Star team this year, albeit in the Eastern Conference.

Holiday will look to continue his stellar play on Saturday when the Pelicans head to Oakland to take on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

There’s more out of New Orleans this evening:

With Davis under contract through the 2020/21 season and not eager to leave town, the Pelicans are on track to becoming the next small-market success, writes Brett Martel of The Associated Press.
In a piece from Christian Boutwell of The Advocate, injured Pelicans’ big man DeMarcus Cousins says he “couldn’t be happier for this team” after a sweep of the Trail Blazers. Cousins also touched on his rehab for a torn left Achilles, saying “I’m improving each and every day and I’m improving a pretty rapid pace as well. That keeps my energy high, my positive vibes going.”
As we relayed Monday night, the Pelicans have informed head coach Alvin Gentry that his team option for next season will be picked up, thereby all but guaranteeing that Gentry will coach the Pelicans during the 2018/19 season.

Latest On DeMarcus Cousins

April 24th, 2018 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

With the Pelicans thriving so far in the postseason without DeMarcus Cousins, ESPN’s Zach Lowe is the latest to look ahead to the big man’s upcoming free agency, exploring just how hard New Orleans will push to re-sign him. While there was once a consensus around the NBA that the small-market Pelicans, not wanting to let Cousins get away, would put a max deal on the table even after his Achilles injury, that’s far less certain now, Lowe writes.

Here are a few updates and notes from Lowe on what could be one of this offseason’s most interesting free agencies:

The Pelicans have internally discussed the possibility of offering Cousins a two- or three-year contract worth less than the max, sources tell Lowe. The ESPN.com scribe doesn’t think that sort of offer would go over well with Cousins’ camp, but notes that New Orleans has a good amount of leverage, given the veteran center’s health — not to mention the lack of teams around the NBA with sizable cap room.
Sources tell Lowe that most of the teams with max-level cap space aren’t expected to pursue Cousins. Some clubs are worried about his “baggage,” and he wouldn’t make much sense for a rebuilding team, since it will likely take him a full season to recover from his Achilles tear.
Lowe identifies the Lakers and Mavericks as two wild cards for Cousins. However, he notes that the Lakers could use their cap room to land other stars or roll it over to 2019. As for the Mavs, if they go hard after a restricted free agent like Julius Randle or Aaron Gordon, they probably wouldn’t be in the mix for Cousins.
The Wizards, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Raptors, Bucks, and Heat are a few of the teams Lowe mentions as possible landing spots if the Pelicans want to sign-and-trade Cousins, but he acknowledges that none would be a perfect match — and some are extreme long shots.
With a four- or five-year max offer for Cousins seemingly unlikely, Lowe speculates that a third year could be the “inflection point” in the bidding for the All-Star big man. If one team is willing to do a fully or partially guaranteed third year, while another club wants to do a deal more like Paul Millsap‘s with the Nuggets (where the third year is a team option), that could be the difference, Lowe writes.

Southwest Notes: Ginobili, Spurs, Pelicans, Nowitzki

April 23rd, 2018 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

While the Warriors would have liked to close out the Spurs on Sunday afternoon and start preparing for the second round, head coach Steve Kerr admitted that it’s hard not to enjoy watching Manu Ginobili continue to have success at age 40. As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, Kerr said after Sunday’s game that he’d like to see Ginobili continue his playing career.

“I think he should come back two more years,” Kerr said. “I smiled when he made that corner three right in front of us at the end of the game. It was just so typical Manu: [40] years old and 16 points, and hits the clinching three. He’s Manu. That’s what he does. I know he’s old because he was my teammate, and I’m old as dirt. So, if I played with him, he must be old.”

While Ginobili will have a decision to make this offseason on whether or not to keep playing, for now he can look ahead to Game 5 — the Spurs will aim to pull out another win over the Dubs on Tuesday to further extend the series.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Spurs‘ offseason hasn’t started yet, but it figures to be an eventful one, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. In addition to figuring out whether Ginobili will be back, the team will also have to address the futures of longtime San Antonio mainstays Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. Parker will be an unrestricted free agent, while Leonard’s long-term future with the franchise has been called into question due to reported tension between his camp and the Spurs.
No team has been more impressive so far in the postseason than the Pelicans, prompting Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer to explore how DeMarcus Cousins may or may not fit into the equation in New Orleans next season and beyond. Cousins, recovering from an Achilles injury, is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Dirk Nowitzki, who intends to return in 2018/19 for his 21st season with the Mavericks, provided an update over the weekend on his surgically repaired left ankle. Nowitzki will have the stitches removed today as his rehab progresses. Dwain Price of Mavs.com has the details.

Pelicans Notes: Defense, Cousins, Mirotic

April 20th, 2018 at 6:13pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pelicans have the Trail Blazers against the ropes in their first-round playoff series thanks largely in part to their mid-season growth as a defensive force. The Pels have locked in on that side of the ball out of necessecity, William Guillory of The Times-Picayune writes.

Prior to the season-ending injury that sidelined DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans were an offense first team. Without the imposing superstar frontcourt, however, the team has had to find new ways to win.

The Pelicans have had the fourth best defensive rating in the NBA since February 1, not long after Cousins went down. Before that point, however, they ranked 23rd.

There’s more out of New Orleans:

Injured big man DeMarcus Cousins sat on the sidelines when the Pelicans beat the Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their first-round series yesterday. As Mike Triplett of ESPN writes, the center received a predictable standing ovation.
After coming over to the Pelicans in a mid-season trade, Nikola Mirotic is raising his game. “He’s just been locked in, our guys really have a lot of confidence in him,” head coach Alvin Gentry told William Guillory of The Times-Picayune. “I think he’s in a good place now. He’s well aware of where he fits in with this team and what he’s capable of doing. It’s not just him shooting the ball, he’s made a lot of really good plays and some nice cuts.“
In three playoff games this spring, 32-year-old Rajon Rondo is averaging 12.7 points and 12.3 assists per game. This isn’t the first time the crafty point guard has thrived in the postseason, something that ESPN’s NBA Twitter account was happy to point out.

Suns Notes: Jones, Booker, Cousins

April 6th, 2018 at 8:20pm CST by Austin Kent

Fourteen-year NBA veteran James Jones hasn’t had much time to acclimate to his new role as vice president of basketball operations for the Suns but, as Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic writes, the 37-year-old has fallen in love with the position just one year removed from his playing career.

Jones, who focuses on player development while team general manager Ryan McDonough tackles scouting, believes that the club is closer to winning than their record suggests and implies that they need to surround their solid young core with players committed to winning.

“Our young guys have talent that needs to be realized,” Jones said. “I think we need to challenge them to be better, to be great and to continue to put them in a winning environment and surround them with players that want to win at all costs and raise the bar for them from a performance and conditioning standpoint.”

If taken at face value, the club could be looking to take the next step in its rebuild, progressing from the asset accumulation stage that saw them acquire valuable young players like Devin Booker and Josh Jackson to the stage of actually starting to build a winning environment.

The Suns have failed to win 25 games in each of the past three seasons, so a conscious commitment to winning would be a notable development.

“We’ll look to add guys that bring that type of mentality but also we have to create it internally by putting our guys in tough situations, putting our guys in strategic situations that will test their mental toughness, test their level of competitiveness and push them and reveal who they are,” he said.

There’s more out of Phoenix tonight:

The Suns were said to have an interest in DeMarcus Cousins when he came available for trade during the 2016/17 season. This summer he’ll be a free agent and HoopsHype’s Bryan Kalbrosky suggests that Phoenix, replete with several other former Kentucky Wildcats, could once again explore such an option.
Count Devin Booker among those confident that the Suns will be aggressive this offseason. “This summer is a big summer for us,” Booker told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “You hear our GM come out and say he’s going to be super aggressive. We have young talent, we have a lot of picks, with a lot of money too. So I think there’s definitely going to be a lot of moves made this summer.“
The Suns have a pile of interesting young assets and a mandate to capitalize on them so expect an interesting summer in the desert. Did you know that you can get a sneak peek at any rumors that start to swirl in the weeks leading up to the much anticipated 2018 offseason? Follow our Phoenix Suns page or, if you’re using the Trade Rumors app, add the dedicated team feed to your account.

Southwest Notes: Davis, Cousins, Gasol, Rockets

March 7th, 2018 at 6:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Davis isn’t concerned about losing his All-Star partner on the Pelicans‘ front line this offseason, relays William Guillory of The Times-Picayune. Davis believes free agent DeMarcus Cousins will re-sign in New Orleans, although a season-ending Achilles injury may have clouded his future somewhat.

“I hope so. That’s a decision he has to make. I’m pretty confident that he’ll stay,” Davis said. “From what I hear, he plans on it. But I’m going to keep selling the dream here. I’ll be very involved — I want him here.”

Davis and Cousins formed the league’s most productive duo of big men before the injury, with each averaging better than 25 points and 10 rebounds per game. The Pelicans faltered immediately after losing Cousins, but have won nine in a row to rise to fourth place in the West. Cousins, who still doesn’t have a timetable to start playing again, is eligible for an offer of up to five years and $175MM from the Pelicans this summer.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Pau Gasol advised his younger brother to remain professional and mentally tough as the Grizzlies suffer through a long losing streak, writes Ronald Tillery of USA Today. The frustration in Memphis is something new for Marc Gasol, who has been to the playoffs the past seven years. “What I told him is, ‘Do your best. Keep competing.’ That’s the only thing you can control,” Pau said. “You can’t control that one of your best players, Mike Conley, is out for the year. You can’t control that [Chandler] Parsons, one of your biggest signings, has an [injury] issue and so forth. All you can control is your effort, your work ethic, your mindset going into games.”
The Grizzlies should make trading Gasol a priority for the offseason, contends Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders. Moving Gasol would not only bring a nice package of players and draft picks, Davies argues, it would also get rid of an unhappy star and shed one of the three huge contracts that are clogging the team’s salary cap.
Lost amid the Rockets‘ 16-game winning streak is the fact that the team has been dealing with a series of injuries and illnesses, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The two most pressing concerns are a left hip injury to Ryan Anderson, who hopes to return this week, and knee soreness bothering newly signed center Brandan Wright.

Kings Notes: Shumpert, Cousins, Labissiere, Mason

February 23rd, 2018 at 9:06pm CST by marksuleymanov

Iman Shumpert was one of several Cavaliers to be traded at the trade deadline, leaving a championship contender to join the rebuilding Kings. The former NBA champion is currently out of action due to plantar fasciitis and his return date is unknown.

Shumpert spoke to reporters after his first practice with the Kings and expressed optimism about joining the franchise (via ABC10).

“I like it, they play an up and down speed, which is a speed I’m accustomed to,” Shumpert said. “It’s all equal opportunity and moving the ball; they move the ball side-to-side and play hard. We got a lot of athleticism and I think I could help a lot, really, and I think I fit in.”

Shumpert, 27, has only appeared in 14 games this season, averaging 4.4 PPG and 2.9 RPG — both career-lows. As an experienced player with NBA postseason experience, Shumpert said he is looking forward to helping the Kings’ young players.

“Just appreciating the opportunity and coming in here with a fresh mind,” he said. “The stuff that I’ve been doing over there [in Cleveland], and the things that I’ve learned playing in the playoffs every year, going to the [NBA] Finals the last three years. [I’m] just trying to bring it over here and help these guys apply it.

“Sometimes just bringing that voice can mean a lot with instilling confidence in young players. I know when I was young with the Knicks, having Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace and those other guys that have been there before come and instill that confidence.”

Check out other Kings notes down below:

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee looks back at the one-year anniversary of the Kings trading DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans. Despite being in the postseason hunt at the time, the Kings decided to trade their best player, signaling the beginning of what team president Vlade Divac called a “culture change.” The Kings have struggled this season and third-year center Willie Cauley-Stein has noticed a change. “It was an instant culture shift,” Cauley-Stein said. “Just like from a personnel standpoint, it’s a lot more chill, a lot more relaxed, got more productive in practice. We were able to just teach each other stuff. Everybody had a role and everybody touched the ball and could get it going and play for each other.”
In a separate story, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee noted that forward Skal Labissiere (shoulder) and guard Frank Mason III (heel) would return Thursday. Both men were active and saw time in Thursday’s loss to the Thunder.

2018 Free Agent Stock Watch: New Orleans Pelicans

February 23rd, 2018 at 6:08pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pelicans opted to zig while the rest of the NBA zagged, effectively doubling down on big men in the throes of the Small Ball Era. Unfortunately, before anybody could see whether the unconventional approach would bear any fruit, it all came crashing down in the form of DeMarcus Cousins‘ torn Achilles.

The Pels rolled the dice when they acquired Cousins at the trade deadline last season and will now finally get the opportunity to find out whether they can lock him up long term.

Since Cousins’ unrestricted free agency impacts the course of the franchise in both the short- and long-term, the fact that he’ll be sidelined, perhaps even into the 2018/19 campaign, is the biggest Pels storyline heading into the offseason.

Ian Clark, SG, 27 (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.6MM deal in 2018
The Pels landed an intriguing depth piece with winning experience when they inked the ex-Warriors guard last offseason. But while he’s shown the occasional glimpse of promise on the wings, Clark hasn’t exactly put himself in position for a big payout this summer. On a frontcourt-heavy roster, there isn’t much need for a wing player who shoots 29.1% from beyond the arc, but he could be a cheap rotation piece for the soon-to-be cash-strapped franchise.

DeMarcus Cousins, C, 27 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $63.5MM deal in 2013
Cousins’ value has changed in a few ways over the course of the past 12 months. While he was once perceived as a fickle star putting up lofty but hollow numbers for a perennial loser, he’s now a major part of an intriguing organization with enormous ambitions. The catastrophic Achilles injury that cut his 2017/18 season short will have but a little impact on his stock heading forward. Given that the relationship between Cousins and the franchise appears to be on good terms, it seems well within reason that the club would offer the max allowable and then find a way to make the numbers work. Sure, the Pelicans could take the opportunity to pull the plug on the experiment before seriously hamstringing their payroll, but it could be years, if not decades, before they have as high a ceiling as they do with Cousins and Anthony Davis on the same roster. Don’t expect the injury to impact much, except, perhaps, the list of other franchises tripping over themselves trying to poach Cousins’ services.

Rajon Rondo, PG, 32 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $3.3MM deal in 2018
It’s not often that a 12-year-veteran on a minimum contract with his fifth team in four seasons would be considered a must-add, but that’s exactly what Rondo is heading into the summer. After three seasons bouncing around the league, Rondo performed admirably alongside Cousins, a former teammate and fellow Kentucky product. The Pelicans need all the affordable help they can get and a motivated Rondo, who dropped two points and 25 assists in one of the most fascinating NBA statlines of all time earlier this season, is a bargain worth chasing. Given that the surly vet hasn’t exactly been a good fit in Dallas, Sacramento or Chicago, there may not be much of a market for the Pels to compete with.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.