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Much has been said about DeMarcus Cousins’ controversial decision to go to the Steve Kerr-coached Golden State Warriors for essentially peanuts.
The prevailing sentiment is that it upset the already skewed balance of power, allowing the defending champions to shore up a position of need — and by need, meaning empty, obviously not because they have actual needs.
The negative criticisms and appeal to the NBA to instill parity and competitive balance (not like they have any control over that) will continue to hound the Warriors for the rest of the year. But according to Kerr, via Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, they’re really not at fault, citing that everybody had a chance to sign the four-time NBA All-Star.
“So this had to be a really, really impactful player for Joe (Lacob) to want to use the mid-level, but we obviously got one. It’s not like we stole him. Everybody else had a shot, too. It’s just a very thin market this year. DeMarcus kind of slipped through the cracks. I think he recognizes that this is an opportunity to do something different in his career. I think he’s excited about it. He wants his career to move in a different direction from where it’s been. I think we can give him that opportunity and in return he can give us a better opportunity to win. So it really is a win-win.”
There’s definitely some truth to that, given reports that several teams — including those that were long rumored to be interested in Cousins such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets — all balked at pursuing him with even some disparaging thoughts about the volatile big man’s addition.