Demarcus Cousins Makes Strong Anthony Davis Statement, Blasts Ex-Pelicans GM

Demarcus Cousins believes he and Anthony Davis may have brought an NBA championship to New Orleans.

Nov 13, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) talks to center DeMarcus Cousins (0) in the second quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-Imagn Images / Chuck Cook-Imagn Images

This year, the New Orleans Pelicans look like a far cry from the 49-win team from last season. The Pelicans were looking for their third straight winning season for the first time in franchise history and hoping to get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-2018 season. That rendition of the Pelicans were loaded with talent, with guys like Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, and Jrue Holiday.

The pairing of Cousins and Davis was an instant success during their first full season in 2017. However, Cousins's season was cut short after an Achilles injury he suffered during the regular season. The Pelicans went on to win 48 games and sweep the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round before succumbing to the Golden State Warriors in Round 2.

Nov 24, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins (left) with forward Anthony Davis against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Cousins hoped to secure a contract with the Pelicans that offseason, but New Orleans and the all-star center failed to reach an agreement, and Cousins eventually signed a deal with the Golden State Warriors. The four-time All-Star recently reminisced about his time in the Big Easy and thinks the Pelicans could have been championship contenders if his injury had never occurred.

“I don’t think the year that I blew my Achilles it would have happened, but they would have kept that squad together, we definitely would have made a run, at least by Year 2, I believe", Cousins said on FanDuel's Run it Back show (h/t Lakers Nation). "But it’s some dumba-- GMs out there. Shoutout to Dell Demps."

Cousins added that he and Davis had the talent to be among the best duos in NBA history.

“In NBA history?” Cousins said. “That’s tough to say. That’s tough to say when you’ve got guys like Tim Duncan and David Robinson as teammates and everything they’ve accomplished, but I think we could have been in the conversation, and I definitely think we had the talent to even be mentioned next to those guys. But obviously, we ain’t accomplish s—, so it’s not really nothing to talk about, but from a talent aspect, I think we're either 1A, 1B or close second.”

Boogie Cousins and AD were 🔥 together pic.twitter.com/oq1qTHCKIa https://t.co/lr3HjTsNdF

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 5, 2023

Two seasons later, Anthony Davis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he eventually won an NBA championship. Cousins would play a few more seasons in the NBA before finally going overseas to play in China. The two-time All-NBA center averaged  25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game in his final year with the Pelicans.

These days, New Orleans is 5-22, marking the worst record in the Western Conference. Those glory days in New Orleans are now distant memories of what could have been for the Pelicans, with hopes of eventually getting to and surpassing that mild success.

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