DeMarcus Cousins gets first suspension before first win with Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are trying to find their way with DeMarcus Cousins in the fold, and now they’ll have to do without him.

The New Orleans Pelicans, with a playoff spot on their mind, traded for DeMarcus Cousins  nine days ago. The prospect of a “Twin Towers” with Anthony Davis is intriguing, if a bit antiquated, but a change of scenery for Cousins was also clearly needed.

After Sunday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, even with him averaging 23 points and 13 rebounds per game with the team thus far, the Pelicans are now 0-3 since Cousins was acquired.

Earlier this month, Cousins got his 16th technical foul of the season and served a league-mandated one-game suspension for reaching that threshold while still with the Sacramento Kings. League rules say a one-game suspension comes with every two technical fouls after reaching 16 for a single season, so Cousins was going to be walking a tightrope for the rest of the season.

Within the first minute Sunday’s game, Cousins had an altercation with Oklahoma City center Steven Adams and they each got a technical foul. It was the 18th technical levied against Cousins this season, even with a few having been previously rescinded. So unless this most recent one was rescinded by the league too, Cousins was in line for another one-game suspension for New Orleans’ next game.

On Tuesday, the mandatory one-game ban became official.

Cousins will sit out Wednesday night’s home game against the Detroit Pistons. Opposing teams know they can bait him into losing his cool, no matter what uniform he’s wearing. So if he can’t get it corrected, and stop taking himself off the floor, the Pelicans will have trouble getting back on track.

Next: Three reasons Cousins-Davis pairing won't work

For those keeping score, that’s one suspension for Cousins before the Pelicans even win a game with him in the fold.