Whatever ambitions the other 29 teams in the NBA have of unseating the Golden State Warriors as the reigning champions have been reduced greatly Monday night when it was announced that DeMarcus Cousins has agreed to a one-year deal worth $9 million. The rich just got richer exponentially it seems.

According to Marc J. Spears of ESPN, Cousins has had the thought of moving to the Bay Area even before today, as the big man apparently has kept that “card” in his back pocket.

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Assuming that Cousins would hold up to the end of his bargain once the moratorium is lifted after July 6 and inks the deal with the Warriors, Golden State’s starting unit next season would feature five players that were All-Stars last year, including three starters. It used to be a crazy theory, but it has now become a reality, one that the rest of the NBA will have to deal with.

All it took for the Warriors to lure Cousins was to use their mid-level exception, meaning Cousins’ incredibly cheap deal won’t count against the team’s salary cap.

And just like that, the Warriors have replaced JaVale McGee with Cousins, who, even if he operates at just 70 percent of his form next season, is multiple times better than the former.