DeMarcus Cousins was an emotional wreck and stunned no teams reached out to him as free agency wore on, so he took matters into his own hands, according to Marc Spears of the Undefeated.
“I was shocked,” Cousins told Spears. “I didn’t believe it. It was a rough, pretty emotional night.”
Sensing he was in a desperate situation, Cousins told Spears he felt he had no choice but to call his agent, Jarinn Akana, at 5 a.m. Monday with a crazy plan: See if the Warriors were interested in signing him.
“(Akana) was shocked,” Cousins told the Undefeated. “It was very insulting not to receive an offer. But I understand. I prepared myself for this.”
The four-time All-Star center knew his stock was down as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon, but he was nearing a $200 million deal before the injury and to not even get a sniff of an offer was a jolt.
It demanded some bold action.
Three hours later, Cousins he phoned Warriors general manager Bob Myers to see if Golden State wanted to use their taxpayer’s mid-level exception of $5.3 million on him.
“This was my ace of spades,” Cousins said. “This was my chess move.”
Much like Kevin Durant wanted to get a sense how Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala felt about him coming to the Warriors two years ago, Cousins called some Warriors stars after speaking with Myers.
Cousins told Spears he spoke with Durant, Curry and Green and they all were excited and ready to have the often-maligned center as their teammate.
“Steph was so freaking excited,” Cousins said. “Every one of those guys was excited.”
Although Cousins likely won’t get to join the Warriors star-studded lineup until at least late December, he’s also thrilled to find such a comforting NBA home.
“I feel amazing,” he told Spears. “The crazy thing is it has been tough for me. But I’m just happy to be with the champs.”
