After having had a night to sleep on the idea of the Warriors adding another All-NBA caliber talent at the only position in which their starting lineup was truly without one, I've come to a conclusion. It's not such a bad thing to be well-rested and rejuvenated. I'd imagine a little R&R proves even more beneficial when you're a professional basketball player who is nursing a devastating injury that has sabotaged no shortage of promising careers in the past. Therefore, while my eyes admittedly rolled back in my head when I read that Boogie Cousins had accepted the NBA equivalent of a stick of gum in exchange for his services amongst the shooting stars, I do understand why he made the the wildly unpopular decision. The Golden State of the Warriors provides less than zero pressure for him to play before he's 100% healthy/ready. It guarantees when he is ready that he will have a chance to prove himself by playing at basketball's highest level prior to next year's free agent feeding frenzy. Last but not least, it offers him the opportunity to raise a ring right in the stupid face of every doubter that (rightfully, mind you) didn't feel comfortable breaking the bank for a potentially broken big man until he proved he could do what most before him couldn't in returning to form following an achilles tear. As imperfect as it could make whatever shambles that remain of the NBA's competitive balance, it's pretty much the perfect situation for a player who shouldn't give a shit what anyone thinks after sitting around hearing that he's damaged goods for the last six months. Unfortunately, he does care a little bit. If not, he wouldn't be exaggerating the extremes to which potential suitors stayed away....
For the sole reason that this decision makes sense for him both personally and professionally, I really don't need DeMarcus Cousins rationalizing his decision with half-truths. I'm sure his reasonably relaxed recruitment stoked the flames of his personal pride, but that smoke is better blown up someone else's ass. You want to take less to join a juggernaut then accept that taking the mid-level doesn't make you an exception to the hoards of hatred that come your way as a result. To put it nicely, you'd have to be a huge sucker to believe that the back-to-back champs were the only team that would have crossed their fingers and taken a chance on a dominant big man for 10 cents on the dollar. Boogie called Bob Myers out of spite for the other 29 organizations that didn't hit his line at midnight sharp offering him long term financial security for the next two-four years. I know petty when I see petty, and going out of his way to sell himself short to the one team that would piss off every single other team that wasn't offered the chance to buy at a bargain price is an undeniable example of petty. Whether or not this further "ruins" the NBA is a moot point, because it's not DeMarcus Cousins' job to maintain the integrity of the league. It should, however, be his responsibility to at least own up to what was a blatantly obvious act of retribution. Not only is the "woe is me, I was entirely unwanted" act disingenuous at best and complete bullshit at worst, but - more so than anyone else - Boogie should know that jumping between playing the victim and playing the villain makes him an incredibly easy target for whistle-blowing. Having witnessed what's been the most emotionally combustible of careers, do we think it's more likely that this was more of a massive middle finger or a calculated "chess move"? Come on, now...
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