DeMarcus Cousins reportedly has no market in free agency
DeMarcus Cousins joined the Golden State Warriors on a one-year deal last summer hoping to prove he was recovered from an Achilles injury before cashing in on a massive free agent contract, but to say things did not go as planned would be an understatement. Now, the big man may be looking for work wherever he can find it.
When asked on Monday night which teams are interested in Cousins, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said there is “not a market” for the four-time All-Star.
Woj says there’s no market for Boogie Cousins pic.twitter.com/cuA39jHOhC
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) July 2, 2019
“I think he hoped some big-market teams that have cap space would strike out and he could get a one-year, $12, $15, $18, $20 million deal. That’s not happening. I don’t know if the mid-level exception he got from Golden State last year, I don’t think that’s there for him.”
Cousins made $5.34 million with the Warriors this past season, which was the mid-level exception for teams paying luxury tax. That salary has increased to $5.72 million next season for tax-paying teams and $9.26 million for non-tax teams.
While he’s still just 28, Cousins was not really all the way back from his Achilles injury when he suffered a torn quad at the start of the playoffs. He averaged a respectable 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds during the regular season with an offense that had plenty of mouths to feed, but teams obviously feel the injury risk is too great.
At least one team was said to be considering making a big offer to Cousins, but it appears that ship has sailed. He signed a team-friendly deal with Golden State last year in hopes of proving his worth, and he may have to do that again this summer.
