DeMarcus Cousins is not a simple personality. He is, all at once, a superstar, a brat, a malcontent, a gentle soul, a fierce competitor, a community leader, and a goofball. His battles with coaches, officials and even teammates are not the product of fiction. But neither are the ways he has influenced the Sacramento community, the time he has spent in schools and hospitals, often outside of the media spotlight.
Cousins gave himself to the city of Sacramento. On Sunday, he was traded to New Orleans in a lopsided deal. A new chapter in his story begins this week, but first he had to say goodbye to the city he has called home for seven years. And the scene was emotional.
“My love for this city will never change,” Cousins said before briefly being overwhelmed with emotion.
It’s just too easy to reduce athletes to nothing but ego and performance. They have lives, and those lives are often, not always, but often wedded to the communities in which they play. Cousins didn’t have to give himself to Sacramento the way he did. But he made that decision and committed his whole self to it. Cousins could have negotiated his way out of Sacramento years ago. He stuck it out because this is how he feels about the city.
Yes, Cousins is a pain in the backside. Yes, his behavior in games can be described as somewhere between tantrums and freakouts. Yes, he has grated on teammates and team officials. But that is not the entirety of who Cousins is, just as his immeasurable talent fails to encapsulate his persona as well. He is all of these things, and New Orleans is about to get all of it. The good, the bad, the Boogie.
But let this moment provide a moment of clarity to recognize that athletes are not two-dimensional, and trades are about more than salary and stats changing hands.
