DeMarcus Cousins Free Agency: Former Coach Reacts to Boogie, Miami Heat

DeMarcus Cousins heading to the Miami Heat?

One former coach likes the fit.

“DeMarcus is proud, he’s competitive,” former Sacramento Kings coach Dave Joerger told ESPN.

“They’re always better after a major injury after the second year. You’re going to see a guy who is very motivated and in great shape. Go someplace where you will play a big role. That means to stay at Golden State, great. I would love to see him go to Miami as well.”

A four-time NBA All Star, Cousins signed a one-year, $5.3 million deal last summer to play for the Golden State Warriors.

This was of course after suffering a serious Achilles injury two seasons ago as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans where he averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists for New Orleans Pelicans before tearing his Achilles.

This season, Cousins returned to the Warriors’ lineup and Boogie posted an impressive 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals in 30 regular-season games for the Warriors.

“It’s a team full of high IQs,” Cousins told me in September.

“I believe everyone on our team has a very high IQ when it comes to the game of basketball. All of us know how to play the game of basketball.”

“We got guys with the same characteristics that– it’s like play-doh,” he told me.

“You can mold them into whatever you want them to be.”

Cousins who had never appeared in the NBA Playoffs until this season suffered a partially torn quadriceps in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

He missed 14 NBA Playoff games, but did return to the Warriors’ lineup in time for the NBA Finals.

“I don’t know. I’m open-minded. We will see what happens,” he told ESPN’s The Undefeated.

Headed into the NBA offseason, it was believed that the New York Knicks were interested. They ended up siging Julius Randle.

The Golden State Warriors entered NBA free agency able to sign DeMarcus Cousins on a one-year tender of $6.4 million.

That has changed in the last few days with the Warriors re-signing Kevon Looney and the Kevin Durant sign and trade deal that brought D’Angelo Russell to the Warriors.

“His market has been really thin,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on “Get Up!”

“His hope had been that teams who had significant salary cap space — who missed out on their No. 1 priority, their No. 2 priority — might turn to him even on a one-year deal.

“And he’d be able to get a $12 [million], $15 [million] $18 [million], $20 million annual deal. That money simply isn’t out there for Boogie Cousins. And certainly it looks like he’ll be back on a one-year deal somewhere and probably even below the mid-level exception.”

Boogie in Miami?

“As for the basketball element, it comes down to whether DeMarcus would be amenable to playing off the bench, with the Heat likely leaning toward a Bam Adebayo-Kelly Olynyk opening pairing,” wrote Longtime NBA writer, Ira Winderman in his Ask Ira column.

“The advantage with a player like Cousins is the outside shot, something that Olynyk and Meyers Leonard also can offer, which meshes with Adebayo’s offensive repertoire.”

“He’s loyal,” Cousins’ high school coach, Otis Hughley told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast last summer.

“I think everybody is trying to play leverage.

“And hoping that everybody would fall out so they could get him for 10 cents on the dollar. DeMarcus is way too smart for that.”

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