Robb: Celtics miss out on DeMarcus Cousins but being in mix shows their growing appeal

The Celtics did not have much ammo to make a splash in free agency this summer, but that did not prevent them from attempting to make some noise on Monday. Ultimately, DeMarcus Cousins picked the Warriors over the Celtics upon electing to sign a one-year deal for the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.3 million), according to a report from Chris Haynes of ESPN.com.

For now, we don’t know a ton about the nature of the Cousins pursuit from Boston’s perspective. Marc Spears of ESPN.com reported Monday night that it was Cousins who initiated an interest in signing a discount deal with the Warriors on Monday morning after failing to receive any offers at the start of free agency. The thinking here is that Cousins reached out to Boston on his own as well since it’s hard to envision the Celtics' front office believing they had any chance of signing the All-Star big man with only the mid-level exception at their disposal. Boston signing center Aron Baynes just one day earlier is perhaps another clue that this was an unexpected development for everyone involved.

Cousins is a guy with plenty of baggage and is recovering from a torn Achilles that will sideline him into the start of the 2018-19 season. The Celtics had opportunities to trade for him over the past couple seasons and passed on him each time. Still, there is enough talent there for any team to roll the dice on him for mid-level money, even though it’s unclear how close he will be to full strength in 2018-19 in the wake of such a serious injury.

While the prospect of winning a title in 2019 just got a bit tougher for the C’s, the fact that the green were on Cousins’ mind in this process is a promising development for the Celtics’ league standing in the big picture.

With LeBron James in Los Angeles now, the Celtics are suddenly a destination where players believe they can win and will consider sacrificing serious money to do so. Granted, Cousins is a very unique case with his injury situation but there are 30 teams in the NBA that would want Boogie for mid-level money.

The choice reportedly came down to Boston and the defending champs. This is a sign that the Celtics are on a different level than most of the league right now as a destination. They have a clear path to the NBA Finals for the foreseeable future in the Eastern Conference and that’s something that should be enticing to stars and role players alike for years to come as they try to escape the minefield that the Western Conference has become. The Warriors will continue to attract ring chasers, but they only have so many roster spots on any given year. With Klay Thompson and Draymond Green set to become free agents next summer, it’s unclear if they will be able to afford to keep the full gang intact.

While the prospect of Cousins in Golden State is scary from a competition perspective in 2019, it’s important to remember this is only a one-year thing. He’ll be back on the open market next summer, fully recovered and looking for a big payday that the Warriors won’t be able to give him (they won’t have cap room).

Given how loaded the Western Conference is now with talent among the top ten teams, it’s fair to wonder when some talent will want to join a power in the weaker East.

The Celtics won’t have significant cap room to sign a max player anytime soon, but they still have the deepest war chest of trade assets in the NBA. If one star signals they want out and would be interested in staying in Boston long-term, Danny Ainge will be there to pounce with the trade package necessary. That kind of scenario emerging for Anthony Davis just got a little bit more realistic after his only All-Star teammate departed town on Monday night. The possibility of ring chasing vets on discount deals should only heighten for Boston in a free agent market that will be flush with talent.

In the meantime, don’t expect the Celtics to land a splashy name with the mid-level this offseason now that Cousins is off the table. Most of the top names left on the market are restricted free agents anyway, so a mid-level offer does no good there since teams can match it.

Ultimately, the Celtics missed out on a pipe dream in Cousins, but the fact it was a possibility in the first place says it all about how far this team has come in just a few short years. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon.