Now it’s hard to argue with the Warriors going after Cousins in free agency, but they shouldn’t been in a position where they were able to.
The New Orleans Pelicans strangely opted against offering the four-time All-Star a new deal, despite Cousins being keen to stay.
Hurt and betrayed, he sought out his agent to see what was available and to his amazement, found out there was an opportunity to sign with the reigning NBA champions.
If Cousins hadn’t suffered the terrible Achilles injury which will keep him out of action until December at the earliest then this deal would never have happened as he would have been able to command a huge deal.
Instead he signs with the Warriors on a one-year deal to undergo his rehab on a contract worth $5.3million and will likely win a ring in the process.
There is the obvious risk that Cousins may not be the same player when he returns from his injury, but for one of the best Centres in the NBA it is certainly a risk worth taking.
But prior to this stunning free agency move, the new season was gearing up to be one of the most competitive and unpredictable for a long time.
Golden State have dominated the pre-season predictions for the past four years now, winning three titles in the process.
The triple-threat of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green managed to win 72 games in a regular season before Kevin Durant jumped on board the following summer.
The Houston Rockets came close to upsetting the Warriors in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, only for a Chris Paul injury to rid them of putting up a strong fight in Game 7 before Golden State swept past the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And now the Warriors could potentially line up with five All-Stars in the playoffs next year.
Here is a list of some of the individual titles Curry, Durant, Green, Thompson and Cousins have between them: Three MVP titles, two NBA Finals MVP award and Defensive Player of the Year. And that’s not too mention the 11 NBA titles…
As said at the start of this article, there can be no grudge on the Warriors for taking this deal, and equally on Cousins for going there after being snubbed by the franchise he wanted to stay at.
But the frustration stems from the exact competitive draw of the NBA.
The Houston Rockets would hope the duo of Chris Paul and James Harden can continue to shine in the second year together and a similar scenario will likely take place with the Oklahoma City Thunder with Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.
The Boston Celtics will also welcome back Gordon Hayward like a new signing while they will hope Kyrie Irving’s injury troubles are behind him with the young core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continuing to improve.
Then there is the Lakers who, with LeBron James now onside, could also bring in Kawhi Leonard this summer to make them immediate contenders in any normal season.
However, the Warriors have one-upped the entire league with this stunning move and it’s almost impossible to look past the Warriors winning a third-straight NBA title.