NBA news: Boogie Cousins trade? Pelicans are BETTER without him - Lowe
GETTY ESPN writer Zach Lowe believes the Pelicans should let Boogie Cousins walk
That is the opinion of ESPN basketball boffin Zach Lowe, who laid out a convincing case for the Pelicans to part with Cousins in an intriguing column published online today. “The Pelicans look better, faster, stingier, more versatile with Davis at center, Jrue Holiday in an elevated role and Nikola Mirotic spacing the floor for Davis' borderline pornographic rim runs,” Lowe wrote. “A long-term, near-max deal for Cousins is simply too risky given the Pelicans know this current roster – when healthy, an important caveat – can win at this level.” Cousins’ season ended in gruesome and unfortunate fashion on January 26 when he suffered a torn Achilles in the final seconds of the Pelicans’ 115-113 win over the Houston Rockets.
GETTY Cousins suffered a torn Achilles against the Rockets in January
It was a cruel twist of fate for the 27-year-old who, after years of fruitless toil with the sorry Sacramento Kings, looked set to make his postseason debut alongside MVP candidate Anthony Davis – a nightmare prospect for the Pelicans’ rivals in the West. But in his absence, New Orleans have flourished, sweeping the three-seed Blazers in the first round while playing lockdown defence on Portland’s free-scoring backcourt duo Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Resigning Cousins would also mean taking a risk on a player yet to prove his fitness after suffering a potentially career-changing, if no longer career-ending, Achilles injury.
GETTY The 27-year-old is an unrestricted free agent this summer
Cousins is likely to demand as close to the max deal as possible but a look across at the Memphis Grizzlies’ eye-watering Chandler Parsons deal could give team executives pause for thought. NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor claimed Pelicans GM Dell Demps should consider erring on the side of caution, given the severity of Cousins’ injury. “One [possibility] includes Cousins returning and lacking the same blend of power and finesse that has allowed him to be a dancing bull on offense, which means he’d probably be even worse on defence,” O’Connor wrote in his article for The Ringer. “Were that to happen—even if the team signed him to just a four-year deal for max money, instead of a five-year deal—Cousins would become an albatross that could prevent the Pelicans from ever taking the next step as a franchise.”
GETTY Davis has been almost unplayable at center during the Pelicans' postseason campaign