DeMarcus Cousins’ Team USA roster spot was locked in long before final cuts
By Sam Richmond
In the days and weeks leading up to the Team USA final roster cuts, there were rumors that DeMarcus Cousin’s spot on the 12-man roster was in jeopardy and that Mason Plumlee might be used as Anthony Davis’ backup for the FIBA World Cup instead of the Sacramento Kings big man.
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However, it turns out Cousins’ standing on Team USA and his place behind Davis was locked in long before Mike Krzyzewski’s final roster decisions were made public.
From ESPN’s Marc Stein:
"Insisting he had zero worries about making the 12-man squad, Cousins brushed off the doubters Friday night in the bowels of Madison Square Garden, telling assembled reporters: “Y’all will see.”Turns out Cousins had plenty of justification to be so self-assured: Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski told ESPN.com this week that Cousins has cemented himself as the backup to starting center Anthony Davis.(…)Cousins is clearly ahead of fellow bigs Mason Plumlee and Andre Drummond. (Ditto for 10th man DeMar DeRozan.)It would thus appear that Cousins, as he has been trying to tell us for some time, had nothing to worry about as final cuts approached."
In retrospect, this makes a lot of sense. Cousins is a much better talent than Plumlee and his game is better developed than Andre Drummond’s. Cousins was always the best pick to backup Davis, even if the public didn’t know Coach K felt the same way until just recently.
Cousins averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game this past season with the Kings.