The New Orleans Pelicans and point guard Jrue Holiday made sure their relationship will last a few more seasons as he officially inked his new contract yesterday. With him in the fold and All-Star big man Anthony Davis under contract until 2021, the Pelicans’ focus is on keeping their other All-Star big man around. DeMarcus Cousins will be a free agent next summer and Holiday, writes William Guillory of The Times-Picayune, is doing what he can to convince Cousins to stay:
With his deal done, Holiday said he’s turned his sites toward getting All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, who becomes an unrestricted free agent next offseason, to sign his own long-term deal to stay in New Orleans.
“I’ve already started,” Holiday said of pushing Cousins on the idea of staying with the Pelicans.
Holiday added that part of what made his decision to return so easy was the fact that his teammates were so adamant in their desire to have him as a core part of the team.
He even joked that some of his teammates, including Cousins, went to drastic measures to get their point across.
“I can’t get into a couple specifics because there might have been a few threats,” Holiday said with a smirk, later alluding that Cousins may have been the culprit.
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Holiday said his teammates helped give him a clear vision of what they hope the team can be with this current core and he’s hoping Cousins can have that same clarity around this same time next year.
“(The message) was pretty much, ‘We want you back,'” Holiday said. “They were saying they couldn’t do this without me and that I was obviously a part of the family and a big piece to the puzzle. I guess when you’re wanted that makes you feel comfortable.”
