How Will DeMarcus Cousins Fit on the Warriors?

Have we been underplaying Boogie's return to the court? The Open Floor podcast discusses his potential impact on the Warriors and his fit.

Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins will reportedly make his return to the court on January 18 against the Clippers after rehabbing a torn Achillies. Boogie shook up the NBA when he agreed to a one-year, $5.3 million deal with Golden State this past offseason. While the Warriors have struggled a bit, the return of Cousins will awake a monster that will boast a lineup of five All-Stars.

The Open Floor podcast chats about Boogie’s pending return, his fit alongside Stephen Curry and Co. and if he has indeed ruined the NBA.

(Listen to the latest Open Floor podcast here. The following transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Sharp: Seth says ‘I know we need to see Boogie Cousins return back to All-NBA level post-injury but why is no one talking about landing spots for him this summer?’

First of all Seth, no one is talking about landing spots for Boogie because like you said we have no idea how healthy he is. However, the reason I included this Ben is because I do think it is kind of insane how little we have talked about Boogie and his potential impact on this Warriors’ season. If he is 80 percent of what he was, he is really going to help them and it’s going to be crazy to see him out there with the other four superstars. He’s going to make life a lot easier for Draymond Green who hasn’t held up well against these giant centers.

I just think that the Boogie wild-card is going to be looming over the next couple weeks and it is something we should be talking more about.

Golliver: I think it is going to be one of those situations where the freak out that happened over the summer from guys like you who said the Warriors ruined the league, are going to have that comeback moment when they see him going through the player introductions for the first time and they are like ‘Oh my God! We forgot he was on this team’. Now they can start five all-stars and this is going to be ridiculous.

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Sharp: I think a lot of people have well-actually'd the idea of Boogie helping Golden State. A lot of people have said this is the most serious injury in pro sports, he doesn’t necessarily make them better and he’s going to make their defense worse and all of this stuff. We will wait and see but he is pretty special. He’s not Kevon Looney and Draymond has been a mess.

Golliver: The nit-picking would be more convincing if their bench wasn’t what their bench is—if they didn’t need the help. If this was a well-functioning nine-ten man rotation where everyone is contributing every night and they are in this amazing offensive flow then you can convince me that it is not going to work. People are saying dropping Boogie into that—he is going to use possessions—going to turn the ball over—he is going to sort of be like the wrench in the system like the thing that screws the whole operation up but they are not operating that well right now and they are not that deep. So they can use talent and he represents that.

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Sharp: I agree and I can’t wait until I see what he turns into once he joins the Warriors. It is just going to be incredibly strange to see him thrown into the mix out there and I think we are all just underplaying it.

Golliver: Is he going to make you hate the Warriors though? What if he is 80 percent like you was talking about and is going to make Draymond’s life easier and he’s getting along with guys and is pounding the post and there is more room for Steph and all of the things we envisioned during the summer. How long is it to when you are like this team is too super? Are you going to watch them anymore?

Sharp: I have never claimed that the Warriors ruined the league. When I talk about that, I think Kevin Durant on the Warriors screwed up the competitive landscape, some of this s—t is just objective truth and that’s a bigger conversation about the CBA. I think everyone has accepted that this is the final year of the Warriors in this iteration and the Durant era is probably coming to an end. So I am looking at this season as a fun and incredibly weird dysfunctional swan song for them and they somehow bring Durant back and if we have to keep this going for another year or two then my attitude will change again.