DeMarcus Cousins had a poor season last year. He was bad offensively and should have been a little bit better on defense. Cousins turned the ball over far too much for a power forward. He also led the league in fouls committed. While these are mistakes that can be corrected with experience, I think that Cousins will continue to foul too much.

Throw out the 14.1 points per game because we all know that PPG is a bad stat. Cousins was a terrible offensive player last year, and his mediocre D did not offset his poor offensive play. He was terribly inefficient and has far too high of a usage rate. His usage rate would be about average for a guard, and he also can't play offense. That's a really bad combination, and it led to a 14.6 PER. Cousins also had one of the lowest True Shooting marks in the NBA.

Cousins was so bad offensively that he was the worst player in the NBA in terms of offensive win shares. Now that's horrible. You can definitely find worse defenders than Cousins, and I think he'll develop into a solid defensive player if he can cut down on his fouls. I don't think he does that with his style of play, but I still think he can be a decent defender in the NBA.

The best thing about Cousins is that he is a solid rebounder. He's able to rack up the boards with his 6-11 frame, but I don't think he should have ever been on the All-Rookie First Team. He's a subpar player right now, and I think he ends up as just a mediocre player over his career.

The former 5th pick in the draft out of Kentucky's behavior problems and immaturity issues also bring his stock down. I really don't see much to like about Cousins, and I think he was a very overrated rookie. What other term is there to describe a guy with a 14.6 PER who ended up on the All-Rookie First Team?

1st Team All-Rookie; Are You Kidding Me?

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, NBA Player Profiles, Kings, DeMarcus Cousins

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5/2011 Team Scope: Sacramento Kings

May 11th 2011 14:36

What does the future hold for the Kings? Where are they going to go? Their days in Sacramento are certainly numbered, and there are really no other options for a team that has put itself into financial disarray due to low revenue and poor contracts. I don't want to answer these hypothetical questions right now. I want to talk about this team from a personnel perspective.

Marcus Thornton played in 27 games for the Kings, and the shooting guard was easily the team's best player in those games. He's the main scoring threat on the Kings, and that's not a good thing. The Kings don't really have a marquee player. I have never really been sold on Tyreke Evans as that kind of guy, and his poor season last year proved my doubts.

The loss of Carl Landry was a huge one for the Kings. Although they got Thornton in that trade with the Hornets, Landry is the better player. Thornton's better as a scorer, but Landry beats him in every other part of the game. Beno Udrih was the only other player on the Kings to play at least 1,000 minutes and have a decent season. Udrih was the best shooter on the Knicks, and he was without a doubt their most important player. Udrih is not a star, so this shows just how bad the Kings are.

Rookie DeMarcus Cousins was average on the offense end, but he was decent on the defensive end. He was a solid rebounder in 2010, but there was a major problem. He never established himself, and he spent more time in the spotlight because of his poor behavior than for his on-the-court play. Cousins was not special.

Francisco Garcia makes far too much money for a subpar player who's only asset is his three-point shooting. I mean, I don't see any special players on the roster. I see three decent players in Udrih, Thornton, and Evans. Aside from them, though, there isn't much to like about the Kings. There's a reason they're one of the worst teams in the NBA; they just don't have a player that we can classify as being "very good".