Woj Bomb: DeMarcus Cousins traded to Pelicans

[Roy H.]

You know in the past both Cedric Maxwell and Mike Gorman have stated that Cousins was, to be nice, problematic and hinted that the Celtics wouldn't be interested in him for those reasons. Other reports claim Stevens would never want to coach him. IT4, a former team mate and friend of Cousins, who would know what type of problems Cousins brings to the table is now the leader of this team. I am sure he let the franchise know everything he knows about Cousins. Rondo, who I am guessing still has contact with people in Boston, and who was Cousins team mate last year, slammed Cousins last year. I bet people in Boston learned a lot from Rondo about Cousins as well.

Bottom line...this team is well versed in what Cousins has done behind the scenes, what type of character he is, and what problems he would be. They know a lot more than we do and don't just look at Cousins in the typical fantasy basketball fanboy way that many on this site do. There is more to building a winner than putting guys together that hang stats. Personalities, work ethics, coachability and mental preparation and toughness are large factors in building winning teams and the Celtics decided, much like the rest of the league did, that Cousins is sorely lacking in these areas. So they passed on Cousins. I am okay with that.

I don't think that's necessarily true. If Danny was that plugged in to other teams' locker room, he never would have traded Perk for Sleepy Jeff Green.

[Shamrocker]

Trust Danny and Brad.

Bigger fish to be had, I believe.

Really? Who?

[SparzWizard]

The Celtics could've been INSTANT contenders had they landed Cousins.

Why. WHYYYYY.

[BDeCosta26]

Considering what NO spent for Boogie, if we could've gotten him for a package like BRK 2018, Bradley, Zeller and the Memphis pick (maybe the MIN 2nd this year too, or Zizic), it's a YUGE mistake. Cousins may be a head case, but he's a top 10 player. If your not willing to part with a bunch of mid-level assets for him, your sadly mistaken.

I defend Ainge constantly, but this is a disappointment. Boogie makes us an immediate contender right now. What's the point of having the NBA's best assets is your not willing to move a few 2nd tier ones for a player like Boogie.

[Roy H.]

Trust Danny and Brad.

Bigger fish to be had, I believe.

Not among big men, which is where we need help.

[Neurotic Guy]

https://twitter.com/RicBucher/status/833552625840844801

Vomit. Not that I trust Bucher.

That last sentence is KEY.

Ainge, if anything, is overprepared when it comes to trades , with all sorts of permutations of different scenarios covered in advance, so he can react quickly to any eventuality and opportunity that presented itself.

No way that he took his eye off the ball on this.

I agree. 

I wish Cs were more focused on PG than JB (if true), but I am hoping that by not sending Nets '17 to Sac, it's a sign of how high DA values the pick.  I hope Danny can get Butler without surrendering that pick.

[LarBrd33]

The Pelicans are 2.5 games out of the playoffs.  That means their pick very reasonably will end up 15+.   Stein is also reporting the pick is Top 3 protected, so even if the Pelicans did struggle, it's not going to benefit the Kings.

My takeaway:  If all Cousins cost was Hield, an expiring contract, and a pick that will end up 10-17, there's no way in HELL I'd be willing to trade the 2017 Brooklyn 1st for Jimmy Butler.  Sorry, but Butler isn't nearly as good as DeMarcus Cousins.  Our comparable package would have been Jaylen Brown (similar to Hield) + Zizic (they say he'd go 11-15 in this draft) + an expiring contract (what Evans is) + a 2nd. 

Say what you want about Cousins' attitude, but even so Jimmy Butler should cost half as much as Cousins.   The market has been set.  I'll be pretty disappointed if we even gave up a single Brooklyn pick straight-up for Butler at this point.

Also, since people expect it of me at this point, I'm going to point out that the 76ers are thrilled at this news.   They have pick-swap rights with the Kings (who will likely stink hard post-trade) so even if Philly keeps winning games (they are 13-11 in 2017), they are still looking at a juicy pick via the Kings presuming the Kings fall over the final stretch.

Surprised this is all Sac got after all of this.

FWIW, while people are freaking out about this return, it should be noted that traditionally this is the type of pu-pu platter package teams get when they trade their stars.  You don't get a projected #1 pick in a loaded draft.  You get some young talent and a late lotto pick.   This is the norm.

[GreenFaith1819]

Trust Danny and Brad.

Bigger fish to be had, I believe.

Really? Who?

We simply can't roast Danny because DeMarcus Cousins got traded to someone other than BOS.

We are JUST fans. There MUST be something else going on behind the scenes for us to NOT get Boogie - as much as I like him.

[Smartacus]

NO's next move is a godfather offer to Calipari to be their coach.  Time to go all in.

Great Point TP, could definitely see coach Cal down in the Big Easy to reunite with his 2 giant meal tickets. Derick Rose is an interesting free agent option for them as well.

[Roy H.]

Trust Danny and Brad.

Bigger fish to be had, I believe.

Really? Who?

We simply can't roast Danny because DeMarcus Cousins got traded to someone other than BOS.

We are JUST fans. There MUST be something else going on behind the scenes for us to NOT get Boogie - as much as I like him.

Danny makes mistakes.

[GreenEnvy]

The Pelicans are now INSTANT contenders up there with the Warriors, Spurs, Rockets and Clippers.

Wow.

I do not believe this to be true, at all. They did not go from lottery team to elite team wth the addition of a .45 fg%, 4to center. The guy puts up huge stats on very bad teams.

Those two are certainly interesting to see together and could become terrific, but let's use the wait and see approach with this duo.

The rest of the roster is pretty cruddy, btw.

[GreenFaith1819]

Trust Danny and Brad.

Bigger fish to be had, I believe.

Really? Who?

We simply can't roast Danny because DeMarcus Cousins got traded to someone other than BOS.

We are JUST fans. There MUST be something else going on behind the scenes for us to NOT get Boogie - as much as I like him.

Danny makes mistakes.

True - but all GMs do.

Just ask Vlade.

[CelticD]

DeMarcus Cousins reaction as soon as he found out he had been traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. #DeMarcusCousins #NewOrleans #Pelicans pic.twitter.com/SDKuE2ZEAY

— Manny Vieites (@manny_vieites) February 20, 2017


****

Edit: Forgot acronyms were censored. I mean "LMBO".

[GreenEnvy]

Trust Danny and Brad.

Bigger fish to be had, I believe.

Really? Who?

We simply can't roast Danny because DeMarcus Cousins got traded to someone other than BOS.

We are JUST fans. There MUST be something else going on behind the scenes for us to NOT get Boogie - as much as I like him.

Danny makes mistakes.

Usually his mistakes are on draft night, when it's usually a crapshoot and you see many good GM's pass on great players and even the incompetent ones hit big sometimes.

Tell me, what trade do you recall scratching your head at the time it's announced and then later confirmed a bad deal by DA?

[Kuberski33]

Trust Danny and Brad.

Bigger fish to be had, I believe.

Really? Who?

We simply can't roast Danny because DeMarcus Cousins got traded to someone other than BOS.

We are JUST fans. There MUST be something else going on behind the scenes for us to NOT get Boogie - as much as I like him.

Danny makes mistakes.

Maybe ownership doesn't want Cousins here.