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Wendell Carter Jr. Has Been in Contact With DeMarcus Cousins … – NBA.com
ORLANDO – A few months ago, DeMarcus Cousins was a guest on KG Certified, a Showtime Original hosted by NBA legend and Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett.
During the episode, KG asked Cousins who in the league he likes to watch play. Unsurprisingly, he first mentioned Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns. Embiid, he said, reminds him of himself with his wide range of offensive skills.
But then, without being prompted to, he added two players that he feels are right on the cusp of taking their games to new heights and would love the opportunity to work with. One of them was Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr.
“He got it,” Cousins said of Carter after KG mentioned that he was a little too perimeter-oriented for his taste. “He got it, bro. The fact that he can play outside and come down give you the jump hook, come back, counter, counter. Give me Wendell; I’ll turn that into a monster.”
Garnett added that Carter, who’s 24, is still extremely young, to which Cousins replied, “He a baby.”
Garnett did praise Carter, too, at one point saying, “He got a lot of good bones, man (assuming meaning he has a strong foundation to work with)…He’s strong as hell.”
Extremely appreciative of their compliments, Carter hopes to prove them right this upcoming season and make even more strides in his development.
He and Cousins, a four-time NBA All-Star who’s currently playing professionally for the Guaynabo Mets in Puerto Rico, have been in communication since the show aired.
“DeMarcus is one of the best centers to ever play the game, so it’s always an honor to get recognition from a guy like that,” he said recently. “He just told me he wants to come down at some point and help me out a little bit, whenever he has some free time.”
Cousins on that show insinuated that Carter is another player that reminds him of himself, which Carter can see as well.
“When DeMarcus first came into the league, I feel like he was kind of finding himself. He found himself very, very fast in my opinion,” he said. “He’s a guy who can do a little bit of everything. He can shoot, put it on the floor, get to the basket, post up little guys (and) big guys. It doesn’t matter; he kind of did a little bit of everything. I definitely see a little bit of myself in that. I think it’s about just taking what I’ve done and taking it to another level. That’s always the goal, is to just keep advancing.”
Carter averaged a career-high 15.2 points last season and shot a career-best 35.6 percent from 3-point range on 225 attempts.
Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors was the other player Cousins stated as far as who he believes is on the verge of making a big leap.
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