Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins ‘crushed’ if he misses Team USA cut

For three years, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has cut his offseason short and traveled to Las Vegas to participate in Team USA’s training camp. For two of those years he was on the select team, but this year he was finally put in position to win a spot on the final roster.

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With both Kevin Love and Blake Griffin backing out, that left an opening for DeMarcus Cousins who has played extremely well during Team USA’s camp and looked to be a lock. However, rumors recently broke that Mason Plumlee was likely going to be favored over Cousins, sending basketball fans into a frenzy.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with Plumlee and some may even argue that his skill set may be more beneficial in an international style of play than DeMarcus Cousins’, but there’s no question who’s the vastly superior player between the two talents.

Needless to say, DeMarcus Cousins says he’d be crushed if he was left off the final roster.

“I would be crushed. Everyone knows how much I want to do this. This is my third year here (two with Select Team), and I don’t run from any challenge. I would be crushed, but I’m not a quitter. I would come back and try again.”

Mason Plumlee of course has a prior relationship with USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski from Duke and many are wondering if their familiarity is the reasoning behind such a questionable move.

For what it’s worth, there has been no official announcement as of yet, though there is certainly to be some backlash if Plumlee wins a spot over Cousins.