DeMarcus Cousins never got a fair shake in the league. He was marooned in Sacramento for years, having a different coach every fucking season, and when he finally got coach Mike Malone - a coach he actually really liked - they fired him. When DeMarcus played for the Sacramento Kings, he really didn’t have much going for him as far as teammates go.
Fast forward to him getting traded to New Orleans, him and Anthony Davis put together an incredibly intriguing first half of a season that made them look like serious contenders to have a deep playoff run. Demarcus gets injured on an effort play and is out for the rest of the season. Next thing you know Anthony is headed to LA, and the last best vestige of a twin towers offense is dead.
Next, Cousins is signed by the Warriors, and 3/4 of the league scream and shout how unfair it is that the Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green warriors get to sign to Marcus cousins for something like - I forget the exact number but it was around $4 million - when anybody could have had him at that number, they just didn’t sign him. Cousins doesn’t play for over half the season coming back from injury, and then starts working his way into the rotation and has another catastrophic injury on an effort play. After that, there’s just not much happening for him career wise.
Demarcus Cousins is one of the most intriguing players outside of Brandon Roy, where, if better, coaching, better health luck, and better teammates all came together- we could be arguing about whether or not he’s top 25-15 all time. I know he got a reputation as being a toxic element in the locker room, but what his time in Golden State and New Orleans showed me is that he just needed people who gave as much of a fuck as he did around him, and he would fall into place and be a consummate All-Star.
Also: this photo sums up my opinion of this debate:
https://images.app.goo.gl/rNezCgMuQTDcfus87
That’s like asking “What if Ronnie O’Sullivan took up darts instead of snooker?” - he said, hoping one person would understand the reference.