Dynastic Warriors add Cousins to cap wild day for transitioning Pelicans

The question which permeated the atmosphere of the New Orleans Pelicans persists after several months.

Are the Pelicans better with or without DeMarcus Cousins?

New Orleans took a shot, trading a pair of lottery picks for Cousins. They got all of 65 games out of the big guy with no big result.

We will find out now that Cousins has become the latest superstar addition to the ridiculous collection of elite players with Golden State.

While Cousins may not be near 100 percent or near the player he was prior to the Achilles injury of last season, he is still a significant talent at his position. You know the other four starters with Golden State.

Cousins will have to learn to share with the Warriors. Are there enough balls to go around? Will he stop the offense?

Regardless of who occupies the Warriors bench, it will be very difficult for anyone to even envision anyone even challenging Golden State for league supremacy.

Perhaps the Lakers can still pull off getting hold of Kawhi Leonard.

Then again, is LeBron James any closer to winning an NBA championship with his new team than he was with his old group?

In Cleveland, there were the Celtics and 76ers to deal with.

With the Lakers, you have the best that is Golden State, along with the improving Jazz, the superb Rockets, the improving Nuggets, always tough San Antonio, Portland, solid Oklahoma City and capable Minnesota.

Then, there are the Pelicans.

Are they a better team today than they were yesterday?

Add Elfrid Payton, subtract Rajon Rondo, add Julius Randle, subtract DeMarcus Cousins.

With Cousins, the Pelicans were a more talented team on paper but on the floor, were they really better? Could Cousins adapt to the fast-paced style of play, run the floor and share the ball as New Orleans did without him?

Will the Pelicans be better without “Playoff Rondo?”

Granted, Rajon Rondo was superb in the playoffs, particularly against Portland. Still, he is an aging point guard who struggles to guard virtually anyone with quickness and is still a liability shooting the ball. On the other hand, he is a coach on the floor and a great passer who made Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis better.

Payton cannot shoot from the perimeter, either, and has struggled on the defensive end against quick players but he is younger and more capable as a defender and has solid distribution and penetration skills. He is just 24. Can he improve defensively and develop a semblance of a perimeter game?

Julius Randle plays hard. His attitude will be liked and appreciated by teammates and fans. Davis wanted him here. He is another former Kentucky player, a familiar theme with the Pelicans.

Randle is just 23. He has a load of good basketball in front of him.

Randle has worked hard and improved on an annual basis with the Lakers. He is coming off of his best season, averaging 16.1 points and eight rebounds per game. He shot 56 percent from the field last season and was decent at 72 percent from the free throw line. He played in all 82 games a year ago. He is a big body at 250 pounds. He did average 2.6 turnovers, a bit high and exactly the same number of assists per game. He can and will share the ball effectively.

The Pelicans have been a team that has disdained the draft, for the most part, under the Dell Demps regime. As a result, the team has never had a young core of players.

By adding Payton and Randle, this team got much younger with a chance to build a nucleus for some time with Davis and Holiday leading the way. Both Randle and Payton can play the fast-pace style preferred by Alvin Gentry which worked so well and provided such an exciting brand of basketball in the second half of last season.

The front court of Davis, Randle and Niko Mirotic is a good one. Cheick Diallo must continue to improve but he is athletic. Solomon Hill, bad contract and all, must be healthy and must be better.

We will all be watching Frank Jackson closely in the Summer League. We will all be watching Tony Carr closely as well. If either player or both proves he can play, that young nucleus got even stronger. Holiday, Jackson and Carr are all capable of playing both guard spots. There is still the question surrounding Ian Clark, though most expect him to depart.

New Orleans may not have been able to keep Cousins, regardless of pay. When you hear that he took just $5.3 million for one season from Golden State, would money really have mattered?

While the Pelicans do not look like a championship contender, they are a younger team with a solid shot at returning to the playoffs in a loaded conference next season.

Then, there is the matter of dynasties.

While I am as appreciative as the next guy of excellence and have enjoyed watching the great teams in every major professional league, the NBA has a real problem with players colluding to form mega franchises.

The same two teams have played for the league title four straight times. That will not happen in the 2018-19 season as Cleveland will fade from view with either Boston or Philadelphia stepping up to challenge Golden State in the title series.

Maybe Gordon Hayward will return healthy and very well. Perhaps Kyrie Irving will return healthy and at an elite level to help the storied Celtics return to glory. Ben Simmons might develop some sort of shot. Joel Embiid may remain healthy enough long enough to make the 76ers great.

At the end of the day, any day, it is hard to fathom anyone beating the Warriors—again. Is that okay with you?

If so, watch the league with great passion and interest. If not, tune in by June to see the final result.