Boston Celtics: “Pros and Cons” of acquiring DeMarcus Cousins

Cons of the Boston Celtics acquiring DeMarcus Cousins

In the pros slide, it was hard not to mention the fact that, when healthy, DeMarcus Cousins is an absolute beast on the hardwood, boasting career averages of 20.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 33 percent shooting from deep.

However, the “when healthy” part of that statement has been a huge part of the last three years of his career.

Since the 2017-18 season, Cousins has played in 150 out of a potential total of 236 regular season outings due to a myriad of injuries, stemming from a torn left quadriceps, the ever-so fearful Achilles tear, and, most recently, to the ACL tear that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign.

The idea of bringing on the big man is one that could be best categorized as a high-risk, high-reward move, and this is in large due to his health ailments.

With the fact that the Boston Celtics have been struggling so much through the first half of the season, dealing with their own bevy of injuries, one could certainly see the logic behind leaning away from Cousins, as the idea is they should look to add more of a “sure thing” to help get the back on track.

Heck, even with these injuries, if he had a long resume of well-documented leadership abilities and postseason experience, it would be easier to convince one that this would still be close to a “no brainer” type of move to make.

That said, with the fact that the veteran has developed a reputation of being somewhat of a “hot head” throughout his tenure in the league, coupled with his total of eight playoff games played — all in one season while not serving as even a top-four impact player on his team — it’s safe to say he doesn’t have these qualities.