DeMarcus Cousins suffers a torn Achilles, out for season
The entire Western Conference in the NBA and the playoff picture may have taken a turn on Friday night when DeMarcus Cousins was injured.
The New Orleans Pelicans are deep in the battle for a playoff spot in the Western Conference and had a big game cooking Friday night against the Houston Rockets. While New Orleans scored a big win, their season could be on life support after star center DeMarcus Cousins appeared to have suffered a serious leg injury.
DeMarcus Cousins is helped off the court after sustaining an apparent left leg injury. pic.twitter.com/c3wdNCo4JA
— ESPN (@espn) January 27, 2018
Seeing Cousins not able to put any weight on his leg was very worrisome. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, it has been confirmed that Cousins will indeed miss the rest of the season.
DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, league sources tell ESPN. He will miss the rest of the season. The MRI is coming soon, but diagnosis is clear.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 27, 2018
This injury will have big ramifications on the NBA playoff picture, and maybe not just for New Orleans. It’s fairly difficult to envision the Pelicans holding serve out West without one of their best two players. The tandem of Cousins and Anthony Davis is what carries the Pelicans. In addition, Cousins is a free agent after this season. A major injury would certainly raise questions about how New Orleans would handle him in the off-season. Do they give him a huge deal and risk it? Do they let him walk away and regret it if he makes a full recovery? This injury could re-shape the future of the Pelicans franchise for the next few years.
It’s also a possibility that New Orleans decides to blow up this version of their team. If they decide that they won’t bring Cousins back, they could possibly consider trading Davis. Teams would flock to the door to make an offer, and it’s hard to imagine Danny Ainge of the Boston Celtics isn’t picking up the phone in the next couple days. Boston is one of the few teams that could make a legitimate offer with their mix of young talent and picks.
Next: Worst NBA Awards Snubs of All-Time
All of this happens while trade rumors are swirling about Cousins as well. If New Orleans were to fall out of the playoffs with Davis and Cousins healthy, they would have had to at least considered trading Cousins. Now, their season could be over and the NBA playoffs could look a lot different in a couple months.