The New Orleans Pelicans just recently finished up what should be considered a successful season. They swept out the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round before being semi-competitive against the defending champion Warriors in the conference semifinals.
The backdrop here is rather obvious. New Orleans lost All-Str center DeMarcus Cousins to a ruptured Achilles during the regular season. No one knows how everything would have turned out if Cousins were healthy for the playoffs.
What we do know is that Cousins is now set to become a free agent this summer. Previously slotted for a max contract, we really have no idea how Cousins’ Achilles injury is going to impact his status.
With that being said, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry bluntly indicated during his season-ending press conference on Thursday that the team wants Cousins back next year.
Gentry: We want DeMarcus (Cousins) back on our team.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) May 10, 2018
General manager Dell Demps didn’t seem as confident.
Demps: In a perfect world, we'd like to have (Cousins) and Rondo back.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) May 10, 2018
As Demps noted, Cousins’ Achilles injury has been the “elephant in the room” when it comes to contract negotiations.
Demps says that Cousins' Achilles injury is the "elephant in the room" during negotiations, but he believes Cousins will be able to come back from it
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) May 10, 2018
He also refused to guarantee that the Pelicans would go over the luxury tax threshold to retain Cousins.
Demps when asked about luxury tax said that if he sees a player worth it that the team wants to go for it. They don't want to spend foolishly, but the commitment to build a winning team is there
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) May 10, 2018
The issue here is that Rajon Rondo might be more important for the Pelicans to keep. Rondo averaged 10.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and an NBA-best 12.2 assists during what was a stellar playoff performance for the highly embattled veteran point guard. He’s slated to become a free agent.
New Orleans also has to worry about a player in Nikola Mirotic who the team acquired during the 2017-18 season. He has just one more year left on his contract.
It’s going to be interesting to see what comes of this. When healthy, Cousins is one of the most-skilled big men in the entire Association. A serious lower-body injury for someone his size could make a long-term deal risky for any team around the NBA. That obviously includes the Pelicans.