DeMarcus Cousins reportedly had just 1 other offer before agreeing to sign with the Warriors

DeMarcus Cousins shocked the world when he decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors on Monday, but one small factor probably made that decision light-years easier:

His phone wasn’t exactly lighting up with contract offers.

According to The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, Boogie actually had to pick up the phone and call Warriors general manager Bob Myers after he entered unrestricted free agency without a single contract offer from any team.

“I talked to a very emotional DeMarcus Cousins. Keep in mind, he had that Achilles injury right after the all-star break and in the back of his mind, he wondered if it really was going to affect him majorly in free agency, and it did,” Spears said on SportsCenter late Monday night. “He told me he got zero offers. Zero offers. This is a four-time all-star, one of the best players in the world. Zero offers. So he was certainly hurt. He said about 5 a.m. in Vegas, he got on his balcony, thought about everything, called his agent, woke him up, and started talking about different scenarios, and one of the scenarios was going to the Warriors.

“So early in the morning, he called Bob Myers. Bob, he said, was certainly shocked that DeMarcus called him and was interested in taking the mid-level exception. And after that, DeMarcus said he spoke with Stephen Curry, he spoke with Kevin Durant, he spoke with Draymond Green. These are his former Olympic teammates, USA basketball teammates, knows them all really well. Their excitement about having him on the team really lifted his spirits, really made him want to come. Stephen Curry’s excitement surprised Cousins and even pushed him towards the Bay Area even more.

“A little bit past 8 p.m. Eastern Time, DeMarcus Cousins called Golden State, said he was coming. He called it his chess move. He called it his ace that he didn’t expect to play but had to play.”

New Orleans Times-Picayune beat writer Will Guillory refuted Spears’ report later in the evening.

Other teams had interest as well, even if they didn’t make any official offers. The Blazers were reportedly targeting Cousins in a sign-and-trade move with the Pelicans. It also appears the Boston Celtics had interest, but didn’t move quickly enough to lock down the suddenly-inexpensive all-star.

This is almost unbelievable

Yes, Achilles tears have doomed even the brightest of NBA careers, but Cousins is a player you take a fly on. When healthy, he’s one of the three best players at his position. And if he wasn’t healthy, a one-year deal would have had him out the door next summer.

What happened to the rumored interest from both the Lakers? What about the small trade possibility of Cousins to the Wizards? Nothing from anyone? That’s actually ridiculous.

The NBA did this to itself. Did these other 29 team really expect Cousins not to play basketball this season? No! He did what he’s supposed to do and remain gainfully employed. It just so happens that the one team that landed the biggest fish left in the lake is the team that’s won the last two NBA Finals.