New York Knicks: Would DeMarcus Cousins be a smart plan B?

Would it be smart for the New York Knicks to target DeMarcus Cousins as a plan B in the event that they miss out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving?

When NBA free agency opens over the weekend, the New York Knicks will be pursuing two of the biggest free agents to hit the open market in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, in the event that the Knicks come away empty-handed in the early stages of free agency, it’s been reported that they could pivot their focus to DeMarcus Cousins.

Though, would that be the smartest move?

The Knicks don’t have the greatest track record when it comes to plan B’s in free agency, and they’ve been burned in the past with big-name, second-tier free agents. Exactly what Cousins would be considered at this point in his career. The most recent example of this is in 2010 when the team struck out on LeBron James and signed Amar’e Stoudemire.

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While Stoudemire was an NBA MVP candidate for the first half of his first season with the club, his health derailed the remainder of his career and made the Knicks’ decision to sign him look like a bad one.

Perhaps there could be the same trepidation when it comes to targeting a player like Cousins, who will be entering his second year after recovering from his Achilles injury. While he had a solid year with the Warriors, he didn’t play starter minutes and did end up suffering another injury (quad) during the playoffs.

During the season, Cousins averaged 16 points and eight rebounds on 48 percent shooting in just 25 minutes per contest (career low). If Cousins – and not even discussing money at the moment – would sign with the Knicks, there’s no question that he’d be a day 1 starter and would be expected to produce as he did for the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans before his injury.

There’d be expectations from the moment that the Knicks sign Cousins, and then there’s the money issue. What if they give him significant money? Even on a shorter termed deal, Cousins will have to be the superstar that he was previously for him to even live up to such a contract.

I’m not sure if he still has that in him, quite frankly. Between the money, the city and his name, there’d be massive expectations placed upon Cousins should he land in New York – even more so if he’s seen as somewhat of a plan B from Durant and Irving.

While signing a big-name like DeMarcus Cousins in the event that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving decide on different teams in free agency may seem like a good scenario on the surface, it comes with a huge amount of risk from many sides. It perhaps would be best to target younger players with a much higher upside than to go with the big name.

Question is, when free agency rolls around, will the Knicks be able to hold off on chasing the big-name if they strike out initially? In the past, it’s one thing that has plagued them mercifully.