Image by Getty Images via @daylifeDeMarcus Cousins, 6-11, Center, Sacramento Kings, 1990
13.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 blocks, 2.7 turnovers, 43% FG, 67% FT, 27% 3PT
One of the most divisive prospects in the NBA draft last season, DeMarcus Cousins has had a very rocky start to his NBA career. Playing on one of the worst teams in the league, the #5 pick has undergone a drastic change in environment coming from a Kentucky Wildcats team that was ranked #1 in the nation for a good portion of last season. While Cousins has at times looked outstanding, his game-to-game production and efficiency are massively inconsistent, he's had multiple publicized problems with his coaching staff, and he's one of the most foul-prone big men in the league. Still, it's what he's been doing on the court that is most interesting.
Outlook:
Looking forward, Cousins remains one of the most enigmatic prospects in basketball even now that he's in the NBA. On one hand, he has extremely strong physical attributes and is capable of being one of the most uniquely dominant centers in the NBA, something that does show up every few games. On the other, he's basically done everything every doubter from the draft process expected him to do, and he has been one of the most inefficient, turnover prone players on one of the worst teams in the league.
There's still plenty of time for Cousins to turn things around at just 20 years old, and while it may be unfair to put such high expectations on a player this young, it's somewhat deserving given where he was taken in the draft combined with how productive a player he was at the collegiate level.
Unlike many prospects who fail transitioning to the NBA, Cousins' issues aren't due to his skills not translating, but more so of him abandoning everything that made him a great prospect and collegiate player in order to try being a completely different type of player.
While Cousins may significantly improve his perimeter and finesse offensive games in his time in the NBA, it's unlikely he'd be as successful as if he went back to what made him a great prospect in the first place. Fortunately, he still has plenty of time to do so.
