Cousins

[dckingsfan]

Just for the record, Sac's cupboard is pretty bare. Possibly the works start SG in the L last year (yeah, he was a rookie so you play through that when you are a bad team) and Thompson absolutely stinks - and was even worse the first half of the year.

They definitely have a dearth of talent - and they will probably lose Gay in the off-season as well.

We think Wall will attract free agents. With Cousins, Isaiah Thomas left as a free agent. If the name of the game is building a winner, it's hard to say it was a mistake to pass on Sacramento's Cousins. Both Wall and Cousins started out in lousy situations. Wall's situation seems a lot better after 4 years - despite having a lousy GM running things. It doesn't seem a shocker that Cousins' situation is still terrible.

Are these Cousins related?

Having said what I said - I would still have taken Wall over Cousins for the reasons listed earlier in the thread.

[tontoz]

There are legit reasons to prefer Wall over Cousins (as i do) but Sactown's inability to make the playoffs in the west really isn't one of them. Making the playoffs in the west is legitimately tough.

Cousins is just too much of a headcase for me. Never heard of a guy trying to start a fight with an announcer.

This shouldn't be considered an endorsement of Wall however. I was definitely not impressed with him this past season.

[Dark Faze]

Wall was fine in the regular season. Obviously his second round playoff performance was a disaster though.

I don't think Wall gets enough credit for how awesome he's been off the court. Here in DC, with the criticism that comes from being here, along with some of the terrible teams he's been a part of--it's pretty amazing he has managed to avoid headlines.

[Ruzious]

It's not that Cousins hasn't made the playoffs; it's that his team is headed downhill with him as their centerpiece - as his best teammate chose to leave. It's not his fault that his team is poorly managed, but he's got a lot to prove as someone who you win because of - he's not there yet - just like Wall.

[dckingsfan]

Cousins is just too much of a headcase for me. Never heard of a guy trying to start a fight with an announcer.

Ha, there is a great story behind that... Grant Napear is the local Kings talk show host and the TV announcer. To say he is an idiot is really an understatement. For an entire year he was ragging on Cousins on his show - basically saying to trade him for a bag of peanuts.

They had a war of words in the press - and Cousins didn't want to be interviewed by Napear. So then Napear calls Cousins out for being a pussy for not being "man enough" to interview with him.

Really too funny... great entertainment.

[tontoz]

Cousins is just too much of a headcase for me. Never heard of a guy trying to start a fight with an announcer.

Ha, there is a great story behind that... Grant Napear is the local Kings talk show host and the TV announcer. To say he is an idiot is really an understatement. For an entire year he was ragging on Cousins on his show - basically saying to trade him for a bag of peanuts.

They had a war of words in the press - and Cousins didn't want to be interviewed by Napear. So then Napear calls Cousins out for being a pussy for not being "man enough" to interview with him.

Really too funny... great entertainment.

LOL i didn't even know about that. I was talking about his suspension after the incident with Sean Elliot.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball- ... --nba.html

[dckingsfan]

Cousins is just too much of a headcase for me. Never heard of a guy trying to start a fight with an announcer.

Ha, there is a great story behind that... Grant Napear is the local Kings talk show host and the TV announcer. To say he is an idiot is really an understatement. For an entire year he was ragging on Cousins on his show - basically saying to trade him for a bag of peanuts.

They had a war of words in the press - and Cousins didn't want to be interviewed by Napear. So then Napear calls Cousins out for being a pussy for not being "man enough" to interview with him.

Really too funny... great entertainment.

LOL i didn't even know about that. I was talking about his suspension after the incident with Sean Elliot.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball- ... --nba.html

Yep, that one was just silly - Cousins was a knucklehead there. Kind of proves the point for those that say he would be a disruptive force.

[Higga]

Now that Love is out of Minnesota, Cousins will be the best 50 game loser in the league.

[lastemp3ror]

I am not saying I rather have Cousins over Wall but to say "Wall lead his team to playoffs thus he is better" doesn't go far with me. First of all, as we all know, the Eastern Conference was very weak last year. In fact if Washington was in the Western Conference, they probably wouldn't of made it to the playoffs. Also, how would Wall be with a cast around him that Cousins has?

[DCZards]

I am not saying I rather have Cousins over Wall but to say "Wall lead his team to playoffs thus he is better" doesn't go far with me. First of all, as we all know, the Eastern Conference was very weak last year. In fact if Washington was in the Western Conference, they probably wouldn't of made it to the playoffs. Also, how would Wall be with a cast around him that Cousins has?

Agree that the fact that Wall's team made the playoffs doesn't prove that he's better than Cousins. But it's also true that the fact that Cousin made the USA team that just won gold in Spain--and Wall didn't make the team--doesn't prove that he's a better player than Wall...as at least one poster here seemed to be suggesting.

[lastemp3ror]

I am not saying I rather have Cousins over Wall but to say "Wall lead his team to playoffs thus he is better" doesn't go far with me. First of all, as we all know, the Eastern Conference was very weak last year. In fact if Washington was in the Western Conference, they probably wouldn't of made it to the playoffs. Also, how would Wall be with a cast around him that Cousins has?

Agree that the fact that Wall's team made the playoffs doesn't prove that he's better than Cousins. But it's also true that the fact that Cousin made the USA team that just won gold in Spain--and Wall didn't make the team--doesn't prove that he's a better player than Wall...as at least one poster here seemed to be suggesting.

I agree with that as well. Unless either player truly carried their teams to each respective achievement, neither argument hold much weight. Wall may be the leader of the Wizards, but he is yet to become a player than can win games for them. Hence the achievement of reaching the playoffs/wining gold was more of a team achievement than a single player achievement.

[tontoz]

As i understand it Wall had some work done on his knee just prior to the Team USA tryouts. Whatever he did or didn't do for team USA is irrelevant to me.

[Nivek]

Any team-level achievement or failure is, by definition, a TEAM achievement or failure.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I think RG III has more ability then Cousins, and he looked damn good to start the game, but he is sooooo fragile. I'm not really an RG III fan, as I can't stand overly religious athletes but I still think he has higher upside. I think the Jags defense would have been picked apart regardless of who finished the game. Not having to send double or triple teams against JJ Watt is big. I do think Cousins can be a playoff QB in this league tho. I don't know if he has as big as an arm as RG III but he makes very good decisions for the most part. I'd expect that from a QB who is about 1.5 years older then RG III.

As to Wall and DMC....eh I think by themselves they'd both lead mediocre talent to treadmill playoff status. I'll give a slight edge to DMC for now based on production, hard to find such productive big men in this league, although I don't care for him as a defensive anchor.

Hate to disappoint you but Kirk Cousins can quote Bible scripture from memory better than most who have finished seminary. He is a man of genuine, strong, Christian faith. He's like Billy Graham and Patton roled into one as a speaker.

I agree on Griffin having more ability, but I won't be shocked if he is traded down the line. Yes, because of the injuries.

That said I expect Cousins will succeed.

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I'm aware of that but he isn't like to that degree of it as RG III off the field, at least from w/e social media forums and interviews it doesn't come off that way to me. It is a bias of mine but definitely not a deal breaker at the end of the day. I just want the guy who will help us win a championship at the end of the day. I think RG III can be a superbowl QB, I think Cousins is a more sure thing for playoff appearances, not sold he has the upside as a superbowl QB, but I would love to be wrong.

The same kind of generalization probably applies to Wall and Cousins. I think if Cousins does put all together he can be a top 3-5 player. Even if Wall puts it all together, I'm not sure he can crack top 5. I like both players and will root for them in their futures regardless.

I like both players, too!

I just wanted to stir the pot saying Demarcus is better than John. I knew I would get responses like the ones from JWiz and Dat, strong opposition.

Honestly, I just keep imagining how good the Wizards would be if they traded Nene and mega picks for Cousins. Wall and Cousins are even better together. Dat, I don't want the Kings in the playoffs. I want Boogie to demand out of Sacto.

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[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

It's not that Cousins hasn't made the playoffs; it's that his team is headed downhill with him as their centerpiece - as his best teammate chose to leave. It's not his fault that his team is poorly managed, but he's got a lot to prove as someone who you win because of - he's not there yet - just like Wall.

He is there, IMHO.

When a guy puts up arguably better numbers than Kevin Love and he's two or three years younger he is there. Love wouldn't be any better on Team USA than Cousins.

Look objectively at fourth year Cousins vs fourth year Love on Basketball Reference. Compare their total games, offense and defense. Which is better?

The only thing we're dealing with is perception. On draft day DeMarcus was labeled a headcase. He is big and black just like I am. He has a volatile temper and so do I. I know what it is like to scare people without even trying. But just because people are scared doesn't mean you frightened them. In the Snickers commercial Godzilla terrified some but was a cool guy to others. I met Zach Randolph not long after he broke a teammate's facial bones. Around 2002. The consensus opinion was Randolph was a criminal or a monster. Many called him a bad player. At Pete Newell's Camp I told him I thought he would be an All Star. I was right.

I think I have been right about Cousins all along. Scary dude but because NBA money is great he will conform. Maybe he will get in trouble someday if he acts on impulse. But so could John Wall or anyone else. DeMarcus is a great player. And he keeps improving. He took the leap in his forth year. His skills keep getting better. Look at his field goal percentage improved. He fouls less than when he was a rookie. He is a more knowledgeable and complete player.

It is not about me. GOD GIFTED ME in that area. Period. CCJ (Ken Holmes) was given some gifts. I have MAJOR areas of weakness, but in predicting talent I am Blessed.

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[FreeBalling]

Wall was fine in the regular season. Obviously his second round playoff performance was a disaster though.

I don't think Wall gets enough credit for how awesome he's been off the court. Here in DC, with the criticism that comes from being here, along with some of the terrible teams he's been a part of--it's pretty amazing he has managed to avoid headlines.

It seemed like the Pacers were baiting John Wall into shooting low percentage shots and/or plays that did not run the offense in critical moments of the games.

We all knew there was going to be a learning curve in the playoffs. It's better to have learned the lessons last year than this season. However, I truly thought we could have taken the Heat.

End of comment.

[doclinkin]

HEY!! Welcome home Ed Wood! Missed ya, bud.

I've tended to be a pretty reductionist stats-are-a-largely-effective-representation-of-a-player's-contributions guy so I don't think I can argue too fervently that they shouldn't be credited in Cousins' case. I think he isn't a very good defensive player and that isn't something that is quite as well accounted for at least by at the more common metrics like PER, and is a legitimate knock on him as a player who is otherwise a force in the math department. I also don't like his offensive game, and traditionally it did result in a lot of activity but not necessarily in a way that advantaged his team but he was better in that regard last year.

Overall yeah, Cousins is very probably a better player than Wall at this point, and probably will be in terms of his ability to impact a game to a degree that not very many players in the NBA can or will for the next little while. Cousins is probably going to continue to suffer the blemish of playing on a bad team at least for this coming year, and his deficiencies will be a part of that, but it's also hard to really lay the Kings' problems at his feat when there are a lot of rotation players on that team who are still in that might-be-young, might-just-be-bad window when they're going to be given a decent number of minutes without having to avoid being awful. That said Wall is still less likely to define a team with his limitations as well as his strengths, which is a pretty empty statement but I don't know, Sacramento just puts weird rosters together and I don't know what part of that is Cousins.

The other (football) Cousins played very yesterday, and could very well be able to continue to just doing that regularly, but RGIII was having a very strong game prior to his injury as well and probably some of it is just that the Jaguars didn't manage a particularly memorable defensive effort.

And the opponent had no game plan for him in the first half since they prepped for Bob Griffin all week. But Cousins' efficiency dropped some in the 2nd half when adjustments could be made. He still played well and kept everyone involved. Well okay everyone but Pierre Garcon.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I am not saying I rather have Cousins over Wall but to say "Wall lead his team to playoffs thus he is better" doesn't go far with me. First of all, as we all know, the Eastern Conference was very weak last year. In fact if Washington was in the Western Conference, they probably wouldn't of made it to the playoffs. Also, how would Wall be with a cast around him that Cousins has?

Agree that the fact that Wall's team made the playoffs doesn't prove that he's better than Cousins. But it's also true that the fact that Cousin made the USA team that just won gold in Spain--and Wall didn't make the team--doesn't prove that he's a better player than Wall...as at least one poster here seemed to be suggesting.

All true, but I said way more than team USA is why.

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[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Any team-level achievement or failure is, by definition, a TEAM achievement or failure.

How did D. Cousins perform relative to other TEAM USA "bigs"?

(For all, did he do well individually compared to how Davis, Faried, Plumlee, and in FIBA Gay? Can we generalize and infer how good Cousins is without thinking about subjective stuff and opinion?)

Might be able to say Faried was voted top 5 and Anthony Davis put up great numbers, but Cousins did, too.

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[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

HEY!! Welcome home Ed Wood! Missed ya, bud.

I've tended to be a pretty reductionist stats-are-a-largely-effective-representation-of-a-player's-contributions guy so I don't think I can argue too fervently that they shouldn't be credited in Cousins' case. I think he isn't a very good defensive player and that isn't something that is quite as well accounted for at least by at the more common metrics like PER, and is a legitimate knock on him as a player who is otherwise a force in the math department. I also don't like his offensive game, and traditionally it did result in a lot of activity but not necessarily in a way that advantaged his team but he was better in that regard last year.

Overall yeah, Cousins is very probably a better player than Wall at this point, and probably will be in terms of his ability to impact a game to a degree that not very many players in the NBA can or will for the next little while. Cousins is probably going to continue to suffer the blemish of playing on a bad team at least for this coming year, and his deficiencies will be a part of that, but it's also hard to really lay the Kings' problems at his feat when there are a lot of rotation players on that team who are still in that might-be-young, might-just-be-bad window when they're going to be given a decent number of minutes without having to avoid being awful. That said Wall is still less likely to define a team with his limitations as well as his strengths, which is a pretty empty statement but I don't know, Sacramento just puts weird rosters together and I don't know what part of that is Cousins.

The other (football) Cousins played very yesterday, and could very well be able to continue to just doing that regularly, but RGIII was having a very strong game prior to his injury as well and probably some of it is just that the Jaguars didn't manage a particularly memorable defensive effort.

And the opponent had no game plan for him in the first half since they prepped for Bob Griffin all week. But Cousins' efficiency dropped some in the 2nd half when adjustments could be made. He still played well and kept everyone involved. Well okay everyone but Pierre Garcon.

Hmmm, you mean now opposing teams will game plan against K. Cousins?????

Rats.

But then again K. Cousins is getting first team reps and he's sitting in the captain seat, he's riding high in the saddle...he is the "high value target" of all opponent coaches, players, media etc. He is the "new RG3" because he is on the hot seat under the bright spotlight.

The plot thickens. Doclinkin noticed half one vs half two...

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