Cousins says no to Jazz

[HolyToledo]

Even though his draft status is slipping, Cousins refused to be interviewed by the Jazz. Most "experts" now have the Jazz picking Ed Davis from North Carolina.

Why do the Jazz want a PF?? Why are the Jazz looking at Babbit? Boozer leaving yes, but Millsap would start with Kosta and AK-47 as his back ups. The Jazz need a Center that can preferrably block shots or a swing player that can create his own shot. Babbit cannot create his own shot. It looks like the Jazz are simply going to draft a player that is going to a be a bench player his entire career. Holding on to this draft pick for dear life the past 2 years was a mistake!!! Teams would have paid alot for it becaue they assumed like the Jazz that it would be a top three pick.

[hoops4life]

Wow. I didn't see that coming.

[HammerDunk]

Not surprised. The guy seems like a high chance of a low-life type to me.

[DelaneyRudd]

What's the link? While he certainly won't be there at 9, what if there's a trade up?

[JDubJazz]

Its not a big deal at all. Koufous declined two years ago. It doesn't mean the guy is a jerk, it just means his agent doesn't want him interviewing outside of the range where they want him to be drafted. If the Jazz had a top 5 pick, I don't imagine they would have a hard time getting Cousins in for an interview. If they were to trade with Minny or Sacto or Jersey, then I'm sure Cousins would reconsider.

[StocktonShorts]

Its not a big deal at all. Koufous declined two years ago. It doesn't mean the guy is a jerk, it just means his agent doesn't want him interviewing outside of the range where they want him to be drafted.

This.

Cousins should fire his agent if he did it any differently. Interviewing or working out for the Jazz has very little upside for Cousins but could potentially devalue him. It has the chance of moving his ceiling (basement?) from 5th overall to 9th overall.

[eyeontheprize]

Can we just forget Cousins, Aldrich, and Davis and get Udoh.

[Matt007b]

did anyone see the ESPN video that was on espn.com about cousins? The guy sounds like he has a major attitude/maturity problem.. I dunno, I'm not an expert or anything but I'm getting bad vibes about that guy..

[DelaneyRudd]

He seems to have an attitude like Kedrick Perkins,not Ron Artest. I wouldn't read too much into the media for this. The media doesn't know him and neither do we. I wouldn't trust Calapari's word though. He is in the business of getting guys drafted. That's how he recruits.

[kamazilla]

^^^(Matt007b)
Interesting, I construed from that piece just the opposite- that while Cousins clearly has some maturing to do, there is nothing in his past behavior which would scare me away as a GM. His so called attitude issues seem to arise from a highly competitive nature.

From a pure basketball perspective, he is as much of a can't miss center prospect as the NBA has seen possibly since Shaq. He's exhibited much more on the court than the Likes of Oden, Lopez and Howard, yet is continually maligned as a risky pick. As a GM, picking third or later certainly, he is a risk I would be happy to take.

I liked what John Robinson had to say about Cousins- "its much easier to tame a fool than to resurrect a corpse." In my mind, his fire on the court could be chanelled by the right organization into the ultimate goal of winning. Great piece, I would recommend it- one can then draw his own conclusions...

[JDubJazz]

I actually like Cousins and think the Jazz should move up to get him. One thing this team needs more of is "nasty," and Cousins brings the "nasty."

[Matt007b]

well I'll be honest I got both postive and negative vibes. His coach sounded like he was trying to sell a car with a bad history to it. The kid sounds like he feels the world is against him so that's why I get some warning signals from him. As an athlete he looks good..really good but he needs to grow up, smile and relax a little instead of being so defensive. I dunno..positives and negatives and delaney is right.. who really knows. If I was management I would be concerned about all the history he has..or possibly getting into trouble off the court that's my worry..not on the court but off. Oh well doesn't matter unless we pull off some trade.

[outerspacefella]

What I'm hearing/reading on Cousins is:
- already reduced a huge deal of body fat since measurements (that's remarkable and shows the guy has attitude when it counts)
- has a really competitive approach to the game
- he toyed Favors in workouts
- he's D ready
- he's got a post game
- he hits jumpers all the way to 20 ft with ease

Yeah... what a bust project.... Jazz probably shouldn't go for him....
Won't happen anyway...

[schneiderjazz]

He won't slip past 7. No need to worry about it.

[StocktonShorts]

If Cousins is there at 5 or 6 and the Jazz can move up to get him they should be willing to trade nearly anyone to get it done. I think he's a top 3 guy in this draft.

[slambamJazz]

I would still draft Cousins and look to trade Kirilenko. Then look at David Lee in free agency. The Jazz bigs would be C. Okur, Cousins Pf Lee. Milsap

[drivewayball]

If I am the Jazz GM (I'll expect a job offer after this suggestion), I'd go this way:

Three way trade with New Jersey to get the number three pick. I send DWill (don't run off in a huff, now!) and Okur's contract to NJ in return for the number three pick this year and other considerations. I receive Darren Collison from NO along with the remaining year of Peja's contract.

Here's the net effect: Instead of DWill for the next three years at an avg. of over $16 million per, the Jazz go with Collison. In the same number of rookie minutes (about 28 per game), Collison was better than DWill's rookie year in every way ... shooting percentage, assists, free throws, rebounds, the whole tamale. Collison earns just $5.1 million total for the next three years. Factor in the one year of Peja's contract at $15.3, and the true cost of Collison will average less than $7 million per year for the next three. That's $9 million less than DWill.

The Jazz draft Cousins and enter the 2011/12 with a foundation of Collison, Millsap and Cousins that totals less than $13 million ($3 million less than DWill's salary alone). The still have the #9 pick in this draft. They lose both Kirilenko and Peja's salaries from next year's payroll. They are perfectly set to build a monster team.

Why for the Nets? They have Williams, Lopez, Okur and possibly Harris if they choose to keep him. They then sign Boozer. Williams, Courtney Lee or possibly Harris, T. Williams, Boozer/Okur/Lopez.

[carrottop12]

God, why do so many people want to trade the only player on this team that has a legit shot of taking us to a championship?

[erudite23]

Yes, you effectively just traded away a top 10 NBA player for a backup, a head case, and cap space. SOMEONE GET THIS GUY AN NBA GIG!!!

[dr0welf]

lol .... that's a good one.

erudite sums this up greatly