Phoenix Suns need to boogie and target DeMarcus Cousins in free agency

The Phoenix Suns will have some money to spend this summer in free agency, and while the market is relatively void of star power, the big-name they should pursue is DeMarcus Cousins.

It isn’t often a 4-time All-Star and 2-time All-NBA comes up as an unrestricted free agent without a lot of suiters. And yet, that is precisely where DeMarcus Cousins finds himself going into this offseason. The Phoenix Suns should be all over this.

I’ve been on Team Boogie since 2009. I even voted in the online poll that gave him that nickname. As a freshman at the University of Kentucky, he gave approval for a Kentucky sports blog to hold an online poll on what nickname he should take and that he’d honor it. I don’t remember all of the options, but I do recall that one of the candidates was, “Karl,” which DeMarcus hated. As the story goes, he put his arm around the guy who ran the blog and said something to the effect of, “If ‘Karl’ wins, then I’m taking it out on you.”

But in a loving, DeMarcus Cousins kind of way.

Boogie won and while I thought at the time this would be just another online poll that people forgot about in 48 hours, here we are more than 10 years later and it’s a household name. Well, at least in households that watch a decent amount of NBA.

Cousins has gotten a lot of crap over the years for his short temper, and while some of it may be warranted, so much of it is overblown. He is such a good, clever, and funny guy, it makes me angry to see him painted as this uncontrollable hothead and locker room menace. He’s not that.

In fact, he would fit right in with the Valley Boyz culture with the Phoenix Suns. He is cool, super energetic, and exudes a huge personality. He’s also been interviewed by GQ, which gives him immediate fashion cred.

Because of the aforementioned unfair portrayal, his season-ending injuries over the past couple of years, and the NBA’s trend toward small-ball, Cousins hasn’t been a hot commodity in the free agency market. This blows my mind, despite those reasons.

This is a guy who has a career average of 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Oh, and 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. On top of all that, in the last few years where he started shooting 3s, he has been shooting around 35% from behind the arc. Not bad for what many people consider a traditional big man.

Perhaps his most alluring stat, however, is that he is just 29 years old! He’ll turn 30 this summer, but do you know who else will turn 30 this summer? Ricky Rubio. And the Phoenix Suns locked him up in a big contract for two more seasons.

What is even crazier about Cousins is that he has signed for around the league minimum the last two seasons. Hopefully, for his sake, he doesn’t go for the minimum again, but if the Phoenix Suns could sign a 29-year-old, 4-time All-Star for far under his historical market value, why would they not pursue him aggressively?

The real question is, would Cousins consider signing with the Phoenix Suns? He has stated his desire to play for a contender, thus his previous two one-year deals have been with the Warriors and the Lakers.

If you take the previous 52 years into account, the Phoenix Suns aren’t likely to be among the favorites to win a title, but adding Boogie sure would improve their chances.

He could easily play alongside Deandre Ayton, especially with his ability to hit the 3. And the two of them could play by themselves when the other needs a breather. He’s like a significant upgrade to Aron Baynes but with the ability to play with Ayton and potentially (and remarkably) could come at a cheaper price.

I know coming off two major injuries is a little daunting, but when Cousins is at 75%, he’s still better than most big men in the league.

I say go for him. Bring some star power. Add to the team’s personality and basketball skillset. Get out there and boogie!