NBA Free Agency: Why Cousins doesn’t pass OKC Thunder litmus test

Weaknesses

Even though he clearly has elite talent thus far in his career he hasn’t demonstrated he can lead a team to the playoffs, let alone have a clearly positive impact on a team. He’s infamously one of the hottest heads in the NBA, consistently racking up technicals and getting into shouting matches with just about anyone he can.

And his body language and leadership issues–the man basically destroyed Nik Stauskas–are just as notable as his incredible game offensively. He consistently doesn’t get back on defense after bad possessions and gets into more run-ins with people than you’d expect from a player at Boogie’s level.

Whether it be due to immaturity or otherwise, he has yet to prove that he can do the little things that are necessary to succeed at the highest levels of the game.

That same theme applies to his performance on the court. While he’s quite competent at the flashier aspects of the game–like scoring and ball-handling–he never quite mastered the smaller, yet equally important, parts.

Cousins is one of the worst big man defenders in the NBA, completely incapable of sticking on the perimeter while simultaneously not having the length nor the will to be an average rim-protector.

The Film:

Watch him lazily help off a post-up in the lane, realize he completely lost his man, and sloppily close-out and let his man just blow by:

And watch Boogie slowly bring the ball up the court before picking the ball up, almost traveling and throwing a horrendous pass to Kristaps Porzingis:

Cousins is one of the most talented players in the NBA, but he’s not even close to mentally prepared enough to reach his limitless potential.