Adrian Wojnarowski says teams aren’t willing to pay DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins history of untimely injuries has cost him a fortune during his NBA career, and while he had hoped taking a discount in Golden State would lead to lucrative offers this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the former MVP candidate may have to settle for the smallest contract of his career.

Cousins was in line to earn a maximum deal and was playing some of the best basketball of his career just 18 months ago, but a torn Achilles tendon just before the 2018 NBA All-Star game derailed everything. The Pelicans could have offered Cousins a five-year deal worth $177 million that summer, but he instead signed a one-year contract for the Warriors worth $5.3.

Cousins returned to the court in January and was impressive in the regular season – but a quadriceps injury in the first round of the playoffs forced him to miss 14 games. He returned to play limited minutes in the Finals against the Raptors.

Cousins is still available in free agency after a flurry of moves over the first two days, but according to Woj, he has no chance of landing the type of deal he had hoped for.

“There’s not a market for him. I think he thought – he hoped – big market teams would strike out and have cap space. He could get a one-year, 12, 15, 18, 20-million dollar deal. That’s not happening. I don’t even know if there’s a mid-level. The mid-level exception he got from Golden State last year? I don’t think that’s .”

If Cousins is forced to accept a minimum contract, he’ll earn just over $2 million dollars with his nine years in the league – but could potentially join another leading contender and have a good chance at securing a ring. If Cousins can remain healthy and productive for an entire season, he’d hopefully be able to land a more lucrative deal next summer.

Source: USA Today

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