In a sports media climate increasingly built upon debate and vehemently arguing opposing opinions, it’s exceptionally rare to see universal agreement about any transaction, in any sport. Yet if you scanned an array of NBA outlets Monday morning, that clearly appeared to be the case in terms of assessments of New Orleans’ blockbuster trade to acquire DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi.
ESPN.com’s Kevin Pelton is among a legion of proponents of the move from the Pelicans’ perspective, giving the trade an A-minus, viewing it as a low-risk, high-reward pickup of a three-time All-Star who is the NBA’s best center.
“Adding Cousins at least gives the Pelicans a path toward contention,” Pelton wrote. “I’m fascinated to see how the pairing of two inside-out big men works at both ends of the floor… Few teams will have the combination of frontcourt defenders needed to deal with Cousins' strength, (Anthony) Davis’ length and the quickness both players possess. At least one and maybe both should have a mismatch on a nightly basis.”
SI.com was even more complimentary, grading it as an A, based on how difficult it can be to acquire a player of Cousins’ talent through other avenues, particularly with the economics of the league and free agency about to change.
“Ultimately, this is the kind of home run move teams need to make in the current NBA landscape,” Rohan Nadkarni wrote. “Acquiring superstars during free agency will become increasingly difficult in the new CBA, and players like Cousins are rarely available on the trade market. The Pelicans are making the deal without giving up any notable players, and any smattering of draft picks seems appropriate for Cousins… It’s simple, but talent wins in the NBA. In Cousins, the Pelicans are acquiring a 26-year-old, in-his-prime big man who averages 28-10 while shooting nearly 36 percent from three. If Cousins keeps up those current statistics, he’ll be the only player in NBA history 6-foot-10 or taller to post such averages in his age-26 season.”
CBSSports.com went a step further by handing out an A-plus, with Matt Moore partly using advanced analytics to illustrate his point about how rare it is to have two players ranking so highly in impact on the same NBA team. Moore noted that by pulling off the trade “(the Pelicans) add an MVP-caliber player who can dominate the game next to their MVP-caliber player who can dominate the game. They have the No. 3 and No. 6 big men in Win Shares this season. And they didn’t have to give up multiple (draft) picks.”
Meanwhile, SportingNews.com NBA writer Sean Deveney provided a detailed look at how the trade benefits the Pelicans short and long term, ultimately deciding on a grade of A.
“Well, the Pelicans just added an All-Star in his prime at a time when they’re only 2.5 games out of the playoffs at the break,” Deveney succinctly pointed out of the potential effect on what remains in the 2016-17 regular season. “That’s always good!”
From a longer-team standpoint, Deveney believes the move could allow New Orleans to move up rungs in the rugged Western Conference, which is no easy feat.
“But these losses (of what the Pelicans gave up to the Kings in the multi-player trade) don’t compare to the potential gain of Cousins. Pairing him with Davis long-term gives the Pelicans the kind of talent they need to compete among the West’s elite if they can continue building out the roster… this trade comes down to New Orleans going from the middle of the road with seemingly few avenues for tangible improvement to something totally different with a lot of upside. Even if the Pelicans end up losing Cousins in two summers, the fact that they went for it is something they will certainly be able to stomach — and something that their fans should appreciate regardless of result.”