DeMarcus Cousins is one of those players who appeared to be ready to have a successful career, but injuries did him wrong, making him a shell of what he used to be. Before De’Aaron Fox, the center was considered the next big thing for the Sacramento Kings, but things never worked in their favor.
With all the issues he had with his former head coach and the situations his body put him through, Cousins missed big opportunities, with the Kings taking notes of his behavior before making the big decision. Back in 2017, he was ready to sign a huge $209 contract extension with the team, but they decided to part ways with him, trading him instead of offering a contract.
After that moment, Cousins has ‘lost’ nearly $200 million, making just $12.5 million in the past four seasons. Back in 2017, Adrian Wojnarowski talked about the type of contract he could have gotten and why the Kings decided to let him go.
“The Kings simply decided that they no longer wanted to let Cousins’ volatility dictate the culture of the locker room, league sources said. In recent weeks, majority owner Vivek Ranadive had become more open to the front office’s willingness to trade Cousins, passing on the commitment to the $209 million extension this summer, league sources said. Cousins’ uneven behavior in recent weeks chipped away at Ranadive’s resolve to keep him, and he started to listen more closely to the front office’s push to trade him for assets and rebuild, sources said. Two incidents in particular — an expletive-laced remark Cousins made about Golden State after Sacramento’s overtime win over the Warriors on Feb. 4 and a 17th technical foul, resulting in a one-game suspension, against New Orleans on Feb. 12 — caused Ranadive to have serious concerns about tethering the franchise to Cousins long term.”
After the 2018/19 season, Cousins hasn’t made over $5 million per season. The Golden State Warriors signed him to a $5.3 million deal, and then the Los Angeles Lakers gave him a $3.5 million contract. The Houston Rockets signed him on a $1.6 million deal, and the Los Angeles Clippers just gave him $455K. The Denver Nuggets signed him to a $1.1 million, and then the Milwaukee Bucks paid him $607K for his time last season.
It’s been tough for Boogie, who was ready to hit the bank, but certain things about his personality and behavior forced the Kings to make a different decision and part ways with who they think was their franchise player.
**Credit for idea: u/Neuroxex**
