[rquoter]Sacramento Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins is on course to see his contract extended before the Oct. 31 extension deadline for 2010 first-round picks, according to sources with knowledge of the talks. Two sources told ESPN.com that Cousins could actually have a deal wrapped up before the Kings open training camp next week in Santa Barbara, Calif. Cousins is said to be seeking the five-year max deal in the $80 million range that teams can award their designated franchise players, as already seen with Wall in Washington and soon to be repeated this week with George in Indiana. If the sides are unable to come to terms on an extension by Oct. 31, Cousins would become an unrestricted free agent next summer. But there a strong sentiment, sources say, to try to finalize terms as soon as possible so the issue of Cousins' future does not become a lingering topic during camp.[/rquoter]
That just means LeBron and Carmelo and Paul George and DeMarcus weren't Lakers material anyways! :grin:
No real problem signing him to a max deal. If he continues to be too much of a headcase for that organization---and they've displayed no overall structure that would help bring him in line---there'd be a decent line of teams standing at the door, hats in hand, ready to trade for him.
Normally I generally side with "yes" when it comes to giving borderline players max contracts. But with that said Cousins is not a max player. And it's very likely no one will offer him the max next offseason. To me, Cousins is the very definition of what Restricted FA is for. You give him a year to prove his value. If he shows he's on the road of stardom, you match a max offer sheet from some other team next season, even if it means giving him a PO after year 3. If he doesn't show that stardom, other teams will NOT offer him the max and you can still retain him if you think the price is right. So far Cousins has not shown any sign of elite production at anything besides rebounding(maybe). Everything else is potential. He has a nice post game, but he hasn't produced from it. He has a nice shooting touch, but his jumpshooting numbers are horrible. And on defense he's horrible. IMO, his ceiling is Brook Lopez/Zach Randolph with an attitude. And I'd rather trade him than giving him franchise money.
Went to see what's Sacramento fans' reactions to Cousins, since they actually watch him play a lot. Saw this great article instead. http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2013/...st-around-nothing-is-gonna-ever-keep-him-down
Big men get close to max money when they are putting numbers like a 9 and 9 Numbers are out there. Max or close to max contract is coming.
It's been said OVER and OVER again, the new CBA really pushes for these guys to stay with their current team. I really don't know who the Lakers and their fans are expecting to get. Said that before with the Dwight thing, they are looking at a down period IMO. Guys are going to have to be REALLY unhappy (see Dwight...) to leave so much money on the table.
And another team condemns themselves to mediocrity (well in the kings case not even that) by signing a player who is not a superstar to the max.
Spot on! Max potential but $12M/yr production (if at all). Better off going into restricted free agency, but my guess if the FO feels he may explode (in a bad way) without getting a contract and negatively influence team stability.
