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Prior to DeMarcus Cousins‘ coming to terms with the Golden State Warriors just mere hours ago for essentially pennies to the dollar, the New Orleans Pelicans were actually discussing a sign-and-trade with the Portland Trailblazers, as ESPN's Chris Haynes reports.
ESPN Sources: Portland and New Orleans had discussed the possibility of a sign-and-trade for DeMarcus Cousins, but a road block existed since he shares the same agent as RFA Jusuf Nurkic.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 3, 2018
Had the trade pushed through, it could have been one of the rare examples of a deal benefiting both teams.
The addition of Jusuf Nurcic to the Pelicans could have allowed their franchise cornerstone Anthony Davis to continue to play power forward and roam as a weakside shot-blocker while relegating interior defense to the equally adept rim protector in the young Bosnian.
The Pelicans probably believe that they could survive without Cousins given their relatively-successful regular season and playoff run without their starting center, confident that a shaved Nikola Mirotic more than makes up for the offensive output they lost, as well as new Pelican Julius Randle with his Cousins-esque “Bully ball.” Although the absence of playmaker Rajon Rondo (who committed to Los Angeles Lakers) could have a tremendous effect on their efficiency.
As for Portland, Cousins could have slotted in as their third best player (or perhaps second best, depending on how you rate CJ McCollum) and solves their offensive woes that are largely perimeter-oriented and takes off the scoring load from guard Damian Lillard. It also helps that he could stretch the floor with his impeccable inside-outside game in keeping with the modern NBA. His defensive shortcomings could be an issue but the 6-foot-11 pirouette more than makes up for it with his offense.
