Don’t lie. When you sports fans saw Demarcus Cousins sign with the Golden State Warriors this summer, you immediately thought, “The NBA is trash,” or “I’m not watching this season.”
Do yourself a favor and calm down before you’re sold on the assumption that the Warriors will win the title again. I was frustrated to see them land Cousins, but I realized the Hampton Five still have competition around the league.
Fans have to realize the Celtics are a force to be reckoned with after the team’s run in the playoffs and, oh yeah, they did it without the help of its superstar teammates Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward due to injuries.
The Celtics are a team that can easily give the Warriors a run for its money with all the depth it possesses on its roster.
As for other teams, the Lakers obviously landed LeBron James this summer, and with a promising young team, Los Angeles might be in for a successful year.
You also can’t forget the 76ers with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the Thunder with Russell Westbrook and Paul George and the Rockets with James Harden and Chris Paul. There’re many possible outcomes to this season in which the Warriors may not hoist the trophy at the end.
Even with the Raptors landing Kawhi Leonard, Toronto will have a chance at making it deep into the playoffs with help of Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka.
Another thing to question is: When does a team simply have too much talent on one roster?
A team can only have so many stars before an extra one comes in and ruins the chemistry of the entire organization.
There’s no question Cousins is a great player; but he can also have some drama and baggage to him. He wants to be in the spotlight and to be a top scorer as well as a defender.
With him on a Warriors team filled with top-tier scorers in Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, he could very well be a fourth option every night. If I know anything about Cousins, I know he won’t like dealing with that.
Cousins will also be sidelined with an injury until the latter half of the season most likely, and the sad truth is the Warriors won’t even need him during the time he’s gone. Golden State will basically be the same championship team it was last year without him.
When Cousins returns from his injury, I can see the Warriors having a hard time adjusting to his addition on the team. They’ll be adding another man onto the court that will want to score and pad his stats.
Maybe Golden State figures it out, though. Maybe they establish chemistry and end up wrecking the entire NBA just as every other fan predicts at this moment.
There are too many outcomes and possibilities for me to give up on this season right now though. I’m excited to see how another team can defeat the juggernaut that is the Warriors.
