Former Warriors Star Ends NBA Comeback Bid

Getty Former Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins #0 attempts a shot against the Toronto Raptors during Game Six of the 2019 NBA Finals.

Former Golden State Warriors star center DeMarcus Cousins announced the end of his NBA career.

“I know I’ve had my time there,” Cousins told Hoopshype’s Cyro Asseo de Choch on February 23. “You know, there was a point where I was trying to make that happen. But the place I’m in my life now, just with everything I’ve got going on, just outside of basketball, like I’m in a good place. So, like I said, I’m excited [about] what I have ahead and my future. You know, my 12 years in the league were a small chapter or chapters in my life. And, I’m ready to move on to the next and see what’s in store for me.”

Cousins, a four-time NBA All-Star center, played for the Warriors in the 2018-19 season which ended in the Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors. He only appeared in 30 regular-season games at Golden State after recovering from an Achilles tear the previous season in which he had his All-Star appearance. He tore his left quadriceps in Game 2 of the opening round in the playoffs and did not return until the NBA Finals.

Cousins’ short-lived stint with the Warriors represented the start of the decline of his NBA career. After averaging 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists with the Warriors, he tore his ACL which kept him from playing the next season with the Los Angeles Lakers during their bubble championship run. He bounced around the league in the next three years.

Cousins last played in the T1 League for the Taiwan Beer Leopards.

Steve Kerr Pays for Lester Quiñones’ Fine

After agreeing to a record $35 million, two-year extension, Warriors coach Steve Kerr footed the bill on Lester Quiñones‘ fine for his ejection in their 97-84 rout of the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, February 23, at Chase Center.

“Oh my gosh, that is a lot of money,” Warriors rookie guard Brandin Podziemski told reporters of Kerr’s massive extension deal. “But he told us after that he’s going to pay for Lester’s ejection and he just said ‘Thank you’ to everybody that’s kind of contributed over the years — the coaches, the players that really made it possible for him. So, I think that was a big time for him to say. But yeah, I think he’s earned it: four championships with this group, and looking to make it five this year. So I think he’s definitely earned it.”

Quiñones was just following Kerr’s orders when he shot the ball in the closing seconds of their third straight win, and 10th over their last 12, which led to an endgame melee involving Hornets forwards Grant Williams and Miles Bridges.

“I’ve always told our team for [the last] 10 years, if there’s a shot clock differential, you keep playing,” Kerr told reporters after the win. “That’s to me the game tells you to keep playing and we’ve always done it that way.”