Add an NBA Hall of Famer to the list of those with a firm belief that DeMarcus Cousins, despite the prickly image, will fit in wonderfully with the Warriors.
Gary Payton isn’t speaking from a distance. He made the trek two summers ago to the Rio Olympic games and had considerable face time with members of Team USA, including Draymond Green and Cousins.
They bonded over bones, also known as dominoes.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“Him and Draymond, we all played dominoes almost every day,” Payton said on The Warriors Insider Podcast. “I had a mindset about him. But once me and him started kicking it and he started liking me and I started liking him, I was like, ‘Man, this kid is cool.’ You’ve got to get to know a person.”
(For the record, Cousins says he Green were dominoes teammates. And that they won more than they lost.)
No one in Warriors management has expressed any concerns about Cousins’ reputation for irascibility, which defined much of his stay with the Sacramento Kings. He thrived last season in New Orleans, where he experienced his first winning season, and his new teammates are on record stating their approval.
“I don’t care about his attitude. I think he has a great attitude. He reminds me of myself,” Payton said. “Sometimes he might get a little overboard; Draymond does the same thing. I like both of them, with their attitudes.”
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
The biggest concern from the Warriors is related to Cousins’ ability to adequately recover from the ruptured Achilles’ tendon sustained in January.
Payton did, however, question whether Cousins would have accepted a $5.3 million salary -- his last contract for worth $65.4 million over four years -- to join the Warriors if his former agent, the late Dan Fegan, were still alive. Fegan, who was killed in an auto accident in February, was a notoriously tough negotiator known for seeking maximum dollars for his clients.
“He would have had a deal in place for Boogie, if he were alive,” Payton said. “But Boogie took the best thing and ran with it. And he ran to a team that’s guaranteed to win games and have a chance to win a championship.
“And if he comes back right, he’ll have an opportunity (next summer) to sign a big contract.”