Draymond recalls Myers’ frantic Cousins-to-Warriors pitch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Five years ago, Draymond Green had no hesitation in letting the Warriors add DeMarcus Cousins ​​to their already strong roster.
The Warriors forward was joined by his former teammate on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” in which Green recounted a desperate phone call from then-Warriors general manager Bob Myers about the possibility of adding the four-time NBA All-Star to a roster that also included Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and himself.
“Bob called me and Bob was like, ‘Yo…’ he was freaking out, almost hyperventilating, like, ‘Yo, this is crazy what’s going on here. I know you’re on vacation, but I think we can get DeMarcus Cousins, what do you think?'” Green recalled. “And I was like, ‘Bob, what? What are you talking about?’ He was like, ‘I think we can get DeMarcus Cousins.’ He was like, ‘What do you think about that? When I talked to him, it was like, he was in, but he needs to talk to you and Steph [Curry] and he really needs to talk to you because I think you’re all involved or something.’
“And I said, ‘Number one, Bob, that’s no problem at all. And number two, Bob, if you can get DeMarcus Cousins, you’re going to f–king get DeMarcus Cousins ​​… if you can get DeMarcus Cousins, you’re going to get DeMarcus Cousins.’ And I remember that whole thing and getting on the team during your rehab.”
Cousins ​​tore his left Achilles tendon midway through the 2017-18 season and signed a modest one-year, $5.3 million contract with Golden State in July 2018.
The then-28-year-old missed the first 45 games of the Warriors’ 2018-19 season before making his debut for Golden State in mid-January. In 30 games with the Warriors, Cousins ​​averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while averaging 25.7 minutes on the court.
His adjustment to the system, after recovering from a serious leg injury, was difficult at first. However, Cousins ​​and the Warriors eventually developed a cohesion that propelled them to the NBA Finals, where they eventually lost in six games to the Toronto Raptors.
“It was a lot of tough times where I felt out of place at times, the rhythm was off, trying to find my own personal game within the offense,” Cousins ​​told Green. “There was a lot of stuff going against me and then I’m also confident in my movements. Doing things that I’m used to doing, but my mind is telling me, ‘You can still do it,’ but my body’s not on the same page.
“It was very difficult, but I have to thank you, I had a very good group around me. You really embraced me, you worked with me, you let me find my way and in the end it went well. It went really well. We finally found our rhythm, everyone found their place within the team and everyone was successful at the same time.”
Cousins ​​played one year with the Warriors before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers the following offseason. The veteran big man then tore his ACL in a pickup game before the 2019-20 season and never played a game for the Lakers.
After brief stints with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks over the next two seasons, the Warriors eventually faced Cousins ​​and the Denver Nuggets in the 2022 playoffs, winning the franchise’s fourth championship in eight seasons.
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