You'd be hard pressed to leave him out.
I decided to think about it, I get to about 7. I'll stick my neck out.
In no order:
Durant
Lebron
Curry
Davis
Leonard
Harden
Westbrook
and I'm at Cousins here.
I can't see anyone but those seven above him.
Find me a big who is averaging ~1.5 3s, 5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 10+boards. Usage or not the fact that he dominates in his own end let alone the offensive end, he's being underrated by some and frankly I'd like to see their top 10s.
You can add the Greek Freak and Chris Paul when he's healthy, but otherwise you're pretty spot on - Cousins is right there at the bottom of top 10. His defensive game is underrated as well, advanced stats suggest that he's a top 10 defender (at any position) in the NBA this year.
Find me a big who is averaging ~1.5 3s, 5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 10+boards. Usage or not the fact that he dominates in his own end let alone the offensive end, he's being underrated by some and frankly I'd like to see their top 10s.
His usage is off the charts for a big man, though.
Highest big man Usage (B/R) in league history:
1.Cousins 16-17: 37.5 (55gms)
2.J.O'Neal 04-05: 36.2 (44gms)
3.Cousins 15-16: 35.4 (65gms)
4.Cousins 14-15: 34.1 (59gms)
5.Yao 06-07: 33.5 (48gms)
6.Randolph 06-07: 33.1 (68gms)
7.Shaq 97-98: 32.9 (60gms)
8.Shaq 95-96: 32.8 (54gms)
9.Cousins 13-14: 32.7 (71gms)
10.Malone 96-97: 32.6 (82gms)
And his stat line isn't all that different from what J.O'Neal, Yao, Randolph did with that usage.
He's probably a similar caliber player as an earlier Sacramento King......Chris Weber.
And even if he's better than Val, it's not like Casey would ever give a center that kind of usage. (for comparison Val's usage is almost exactly 1/2 boogie's).
toronto and washington are both eager to add another rotation player, per several league sources. the raps roster is a little heavy on bigs after the ibaka deal, and they still have trade chips -- all their own picks, and some interesting young guys. They have the maximum 15 players under contract, but if necessary, they could waive jared sullinger to clear a roster spot.
any deal involving an expensive drakes veteran will probably wait until the summer, when the team faces a severe luxury tax crunch.
Having a high usage is not necessarily a bad thing.
What's he supposed to do on a team with no supporting cast. Just stand there?
Of course not. But when your team always sucks with your high usage, it definitely might be.
His supporting cast has usually been underrated. If he truly is an elite player, he's had good enough support players to at least be a decent team, if not a contender.
Rondo, Gay, Collision, Lawson, Thomas, Evans.....these were all solid starters he had around him and his team always sucked.
I don't understand why the Sacramento GM told people he had received a better offer two days prior to making this deal.
It just makes him look even more incompetent.
His supporting cast is definitely not underrated. In fact it's one of the worst.
Rajon Rondo? Really? He had a temper tandrum who clashed with Rick Carlisle in Dallas and nobody wanted after that. He has a career sub .500 TS% and hasn't made any impact since the big 3 left. There's a reason he could only get a 1 year contract after leaving Dallas for the Kings
Darren Collison? The guy being charged with domestic violence. Besides that, he's a good backup point guard but nowhere near a quality starting point guard.
Ty Lawson? The player with multiple DUIs? See Sacramento loves bringing in these guys to help Cousins who are already broken as players
Rudy Gay? The guy who left Memphis and then Memphis became instantly better. The guy who left Toronto and then Toronto became instantly better
Isaiah Thomas? I'll give you him as he was a decent player with the Kings although his defense was very bad back then (hindering him from being a starting PG). Then for some reason, they decided to sign and trade him to the Suns for a no name player.
If you're going to say those guys are bad because of off court issues, then how can you say Cousins is good regardless of his?
Based on actual play, those were all solid to above average starting NBAers that he got to play with. And the team always sucked. Not just bad - they sucked.
Wtf, we were offering JV+ for Drummond? OMG I hope this happens
Also, Butler is available??? Wow. Would you guys think Poeltl+Siakim+2 1sts is enough or not even close?
http://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=18734507
Starts around the 6:50 mark... Kings concerned with losing this year to keep their pick which is why they did not look for talent that could help them immediately.
Heavy rumor not sure if it is true or if we would have done it or not, but it is out there according to Stein and Lowe
Damn, that nets pick is a goldmineProbably not even close seeing as Boston is reportedly interested. They hold the trump card Nets picks.
They probably add a PJ Tucker type at the wing.
Lowe/Stein: Raptors pitched JV & 1st Rd pick for Cousins
Could you imagine
Lowry
DeRozan
Carroll
Ibaka
Cousins
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Paul George and Jimmy Butler available. Masai please do something big