Cousins Prefers Detroit?

Draftexpress is reporting that our man Demarcus Cousins preferred landing spot in the draft is in Detroit. The Pistons currently own the #7 pick, but there have been rumors of them using Tayshaun Prince or Rip Hamilton to move up to #5 and nab Cousins. It seems pretty risky to hope for Cousins to slip all the way to #7, although it isn't out of the question.

I know it would create a small dent in his pocket to slip to #7, but I feel that it would ultimately be in his best interests. For one thing, falling down the draft would give him a bit of a chip on his shoulder. That edge has served several guys well, Paul Pierce and Caron Butler being two that come to mind. Neither of those guys have forgotten the teams that passed on them, using that as fuel to become elite NBA players.

Cousins might not be mature enough at this time to give a top three pick, but I would bet on him making those General Manager's passing on him look incompetent. He seems like just the type that would revel in reminding teams that pass on him how they screwed up as he develops into a perennial All Star player. This is something that Calipari mentioned in his Outiside the Line's piece yesterday talking about Cousins, and I totally agree.

One of my favorite moments, and something I bring up pretty frequently is interviewing Demarcus Cousins after the Miami (OHIO) game this year. I got the full gambit of emotions in that limited interaction. If you remember from that game he had a mix up with Calipari and was benched for an extended period of time. As the game progressed Orton ended up getting taken out of the game with a pretty tough spill, which didn't sit too well with Big Cuz. He looked terrible for the first part of that game but came in with a spirited effort in the second half to help us get the win.

During the post-game interview, Cousins looked like he was ready to knockout anyone that might rub him the wrong way. As the interview went on he showed more and more of his personality and gave some great quotes along the way. I was very unsure to that point about what his future held, but came away with a lot better opinion of the Alabama native.

The way Cousins plays and conducts himself seems tailor made for a reinvention of Bad Boys Basketball in Detroit. If anyone would appreciate him, it would be the Pistons and Joe Dumars. Dumars has made some terrible personnel decisions after he assembled a championship caliber team. As much as his mistakes hurt a guy like Tayshaun at this point of his career, it is perfect for Cousins. His questionable calls have created an opportunity for a young guy like Cousins to come in and make a huge impact on that roster.

Part of me hopes Tayshaun could join forces with Cousins to help turn the Palace of Auburn Hills into Lexington North. It would be great to have two of my all time favorite Cats on the same NBA squad. I could also see how it might be time for Tay to move on to greener pastures. He is in the prime of his career and ready to help contribute to a championship level team. That isn't something in the cards for Detroit anytime soon, with or without Demarcus Cousins.

We shall see how things fall in the next couple days, but Cousins to Detroit might be too good for everyone to pass up.