During the 2016-17 season, the New Orleans Pelicans doubled down on star power in the paint by trading for DeMarcus Cousins to pair him with Anthony Davis, but the dream collapsed before it could even take shape.
By the time Cousins arrived, the Pelicans were already too far behind in the standings to salvage their season. The following year looked more promising, but Cousins tore his Achilles in late January and was shut down for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, during which the Pelicans reached the second round.
Following that season, Cousins declined an extension from the Pelicans and joined the Golden State Warriors. Rajon Rondo, a key contributor to their success, also left to join the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans were never the same and eventually kickstarted a rebuild.
Looking back, former Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday couldn’t help but wonder what could have been. He wished the team had stayed together, pointing out how nobody could guard Davis and Cousins at that time.
“Let’s fast forward to the Pelican days. Obviously, I played on some super talented teams, but that Pelicans team with AD, DeMarcus Cousins, and me—when you look back at it, it was a cheat code. There was nobody at that time who could match up with AD. Nobody. And there sure as hell wasn’t anyone who could match up with DeMarcus. Then, you throw me into the mix. It was… oh my gosh. If we could have kept that team together—there are so many times I think, ‘Man, if we had kept our Philly team together, we would have been really good.’ But if we had kept that Pelicans team together? Oh my gosh. Nobody could see DeMarcus. Nobody could stop him. He was like a 5. And we still had Rondo, we had me, E’Twaun Moore, and Nico. We had three-point shooting and inside presence. What are you supposed to do when you come down the court as an opponent and see DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis coming at you? Nothing. What do you plan to do? Nothing.”
It’s unfortunate the NBA never got to see them fully in the playoffs. That said, even if Cousins had stayed with the Pelicans instead of signing with the Warriors, there’s no guarantee he would’ve been the same player.
In 2019, Cousins was still a solid contributor, averaging 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 48.0% shooting from the field. However, he was coming off a major injury and continued to battle injury issues that season with the Warriors. His durability simply wasn’t there, and he was never able to fully return to the form he showed with the Pelicans.
Still, this remains one of the league’s great “what ifs,” and Holiday perfectly captured just how promising that team really was.
