When he is not getting into scuffles with fans in Puerto Rico, four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins is doing his fair share of NBA-adjacent podcast appearances. And in his most recent one, he openly wishes he had been a member of the Detroit Pistons to begin his NBA career.
Speaking on the Run It Back podcast hosted by Michelle Beadle and former NBA players Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams, Cousins was his usual unreserved self. In the same appearance in which he claimed that the Phoenix Suns had endured multiple fist fights in the locker room this past season, Cousins reminisced about the beginning of his NBA career, and who it began with.
“I did have a workout with a team that was kind of out of my draft range,” Cousins said. “It was the team that I would have liked to have gone to just for long-term success”, later clarifying that “it was the Detroit Pistons”.
“I thought it fit who I was as a person. I could fit that culture.”
Cousins’ Strong First Half To His Career
Cousins was selected fifth overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings, selected between Wesley Johnson and Ekpe Udoh and going on to have a far better career than either of them. The Pistons, however, selected seventh, ultimately choosing Greg Monroe out of Georgetown.
Monroe, the “Moose”, was quite good. But Cousins was better. Until his career trajectory changed irreparably after tearing his Achilles tendon in January 2018, he had racked up four All-Star berths and a nightly 25-12 average as a member of the Kings, combining his tremendous power with skill, rebounding instincts, and – before the injury – enough explosion to keep up with the modern big man style.
In contrast, Monroe would spend five years as the Pistons’ starting center, and record averages of 14.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game in that time, until leaving and joining the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent in the summer of 2015. Injuries prevented both players from having lengthy careers, but at their peaks, Cousins was better.
Detroit In A Tough Place At The Time
The Pistons of 2010 were not the Pistons of a few years prior, where their spectacular defense saw them win the 2004 NBA Finals and set a new standard in team building. By this time, they were underway on a two-decade journey of mediocrity that ended only this season.
That said, the city of Detroit at that time was unmistakably going through some things.
For all of the criticism levied at Cousins over the years – both as a player, given his playing style’s presumed incompatibility with winning, and his bellicose nature – no one denies his grittiness. As evidenced by his rebounding rate, Cousins was always willing to work and fight for what he can get. This tenacity and feistiness would likely have played well with a struggling team in a down-and-almost-out city.
Rumors at the time suggested that the Pistons certainly tried to move up in the draft to select Cousins, and were even still trying to acquire him in 2012. The feeling, it appears, was mutual.
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