Demarcus Cousins recently tried to find out why he can’t get a job in the NBA, and Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers gave him a brutally honest assessment of the former All-Star’s difficult situation.
Cousins is one of the more frustrating talents the NBA has seen over the last decade-plus. The man selected with the fifth pick in the 2010 NBA draft was a player who was often one of the very best centers in the league during his time in the league.
However, coming into the NBA as a 19-year-old and already having a great deal of personal baggage weighing down his upside, he was a difficult talent to handle due to his emotional nature. While he always had the skills to dominate any big man in the league, the six-time All-Star never reached his potential due to clashing with referees, teammates, and coaches.
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Now, at 32 and a few years removed from ACL surgery, Demarcus Cousins is having a great deal of trouble finding a job in the NBA. It has gotten to the point where he sought out advice on the situation from one of his former employers, and they held nothing back in explaining why he is in his current predicament.
Golden State Warriors general manager explains why Demarcus Cousins can’t find an NBA job
On a recent edition of the All the Smoke podcast — hosted by Golden State Warriors veterans Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes — general manager Bob Myers revealed that Cousins recently gave him a call.
- Demarcus Cousins stats (career): 196 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.1 BPG, 46% FG
Myers signed him in 2018, and Cousins bluntly asked him why he is having problems getting signed. Here’s Myers’ very honest answer:
“He was here just for a year. DeMarcus called me a month ago and he said, ‘Why am I not in the NBA?’ And I said, ‘You want that answer?’ And he’s like, ‘yea.’ [Myers said] ‘Because people are afraid of how you’re going to act.’ And he’s like ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Well whatever the reason is, it’s here now.’ And I like DeMarcus. He’s just; I can’t blame him for him because of all he’s been through.
“… He is what he is, fine. And I said, ‘here’s the issue. You have to be better than everyone. You have to act better than everyone to get back. You can’t just be average. You’ve got to convince people’ and that’s not really fair, but that’s just what it is.”
– Bob Myers on Demarcus Cousins
Cousins split time between the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets in 2021-2022. After playing six seasons with the Sacramento Kings, he has played on six different teams in five seasons, including the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.