The Golden State Warriors were looking for the second NBA three-peat of the 21st century as they went into the 2018-19 NBA season. They boasted a talented roster, but it came at a high cost as their top four stars alone ate up 102% of their salary cap. The only way they could sign a player in free agency that season was through the mid-level exception. But very few pundits expected them to land four-time All-Star, DeMarcus Cousins with it.
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Boogie was coming off a dominant campaign in New Orleans where he averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. So, how did a superstar center with this kind of production end up signing a $5.3 million contract in the middle of his prime?
The answer is complicated, but it ultimately boils down to Cousins’ history of being a liability in the locker room. He had issues with his opponents, his own teammates, and even his team’s front office, establishing his reputation as a player who would ruin any roster’s chemistry.
His beef with Nik Stauskas forced Sacramento to trade him. Boogie also fought with other teammates like Donte Greene and Hassan Whiteside.
This troubling history would cost him $20 million in 2018 as 0 out of the 30 teams in the NBA asked for him during free agency. During the same off-season, DeAndre Jordan would earn a $22.9 million contract for averaging 12 points and 15 rebounds per game.
Even Whiteside, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert and Marc Gasol earned over $20 million that season, but Cousins, who was arguably the best of them at the time, didn’t receive any offers. Ultimately, Boogie was forced to make his case to Steve Kerr to even receive a spot on the Warriors’ roster.
Cousins struggled to remain on the floor throughout his career
In four separate seasons, he earned a one-game suspension for crossing the technical foul threshold, a feat that Draymond Green has achieved only once (thus far). In total, Boogie was fined 123 times during his 654 NBA appearances.
That means he picked up a fine in nearly 1 out of every 5 games he played, racking up a total amount of $1,166,890 in fines throughout his 14-season career.
Certainly, this was a factor in his value plummeting during the 2018 free agency. But Cousins was also recovering from an Achilles injury. Ultimately, that is what would derail his stint with the Warriors too.
The former fifth pick would only play in 30 games for Golden State as he struggled to bounce back from his injury. Kevin Durant would eventually miss time for the Warriors too, and the storied super team would succumb to Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals.
