Blue Man Hoop
Fansided

Golden State Warriors may have been too greedy when signing Cousins

By Tony Pesta

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors falls to the crowd after injuring himself against the LA Clippers during Game Two of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 15, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors falls to the crowd after injuring himself against the LA Clippers during Game Two of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 15, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

With DeMarcus Cousins potentially being ruled out for the remainder of the NBA Playoffs, the Golden State Warriors might be kicking themselves right now.

The Golden State Warriors always pride themselves on having an all-around team effort. The slogan “Strength in Numbers” fit the Dubs perfectly as they had always ensured they had a full roster of capable players. However, the Warriors have been steadily straying away from this idea ever since they signed Kevin Durant in the 2016 summer.

As the Warriors progressed through the latter half of this decade, the front office has made the decision to sacrifice their depth in order to bring in more superstar players. Signing players like DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant seem like a homerun move, but it can have deadly repercussions.

While Durant has brought a ton of success to the franchise, he has also created a lot of negative energy. His free agency fiasco is something that no other star on the Dubs has put the team through and it has had an obvious impact on the team.

However, Durant’s positives heavily outweigh the negatives. In contrast, Cousins was a loose cannon from the moment the Warriors signed him.

Everyone knew from the jump that acquiring Cousins could backfire for the Warriors. He had a history of being a bad locker room presence and his attitude could derail any team. Not to mention he was fresh off an Achilles tear that not many players at his size have ever recovered from.

Still, the Warriors decided to bring him in. In turn, the Dubs lost their chance of retaining players such as JaVale McGee and Zaza Pachulia. These two guys have a far lower ceiling than Cousins, but they certainly presented a lower risk than Cousins as well.

Now that Cousins has suffered an injury that could potentially keep him sidelined for the rest of the postseason, the Warriors must be frustrated with themselves. This signing was risky since day one and it looks as if it is going to backfire on Golden State.

As the Dubs move forward into the postseason, they will be facing more adversity than they should have been. The road to a championship is going to be tougher now, but the Warriors are ready to take on the challenge.

Home/Warriors News