Latest / Bleacher Report / DeMarcus Cousins Sees Flashes of Kobe in Darryn Peterson _ 2026 NBA Draft

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DeMarcus Cousins Sees Flashes of Kobe in Darryn Peterson _ 2026 NBA Draft · Bleacher Report

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  Speaker 1: All right, the.
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  Speaker 2: Pick is in and it is Darren Peterson. Okay, the
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  Speaker 2: one a one be held true here in the first
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  Speaker 2: two picks in twenty twenty six NBA Draft. It was
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  Speaker 2: a strange year at Kansas, to say the least for
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  Speaker 2: Darren Peterson. But coming in to his college year, there
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  Speaker 2: were many who believe this was the best player in
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  Speaker 2: the class. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: I think when you have that six to four frame,
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  Speaker 3: with the scoring ability that he has, this was a
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  Speaker 3: kid who was highly prolifics for in the basketball And yes,
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  Speaker 3: there was some concerns there was a creating incident that
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  Speaker 3: he had obviously the Krants that happened during this year.
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  Speaker 3: But when he was on the floor for Kansas, there
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  Speaker 3: was not a better score in the country, to beyonest
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  Speaker 3: with you, and I've even put him up there with
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  Speaker 3: a Devosis scoring wise. He had all that guard package
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  Speaker 3: that you want to score at the NBA level.
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  Speaker 2: We've heard Kobe Bryant comps, We've heard Michael Jordan comps,
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  Speaker 2: if we really want to get crazy boogie, what do
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  Speaker 2: you see from Darren Peterson.
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  Speaker 1: I could see the Kobe in his day. I could
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  Speaker 1: see the self confidence, I could see the isolation package,
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  Speaker 1: everything that you know we loved about Kobe. This kid
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  Speaker 1: shows flashes a super super timent kid, probably the most
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  Speaker 1: talented in the draft. He didn't do hisself any favors
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  Speaker 1: with the you know, situations at Kansas, but with the talent,
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  Speaker 1: all that can be overlooked. Just two talented to pass
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  Speaker 1: up on. I am concerned with the combination of him
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  Speaker 1: and Keyante George. I want to see what that looks
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  Speaker 1: like with those two on the floor together. They both
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  Speaker 1: lead the ball in their hands to beat themselves, so
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  Speaker 1: that's something to be figured out. But I mean undeniable talent.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the future in Utah in the front court will
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  Speaker 2: be interesting with Lowry Markin and Jaron Jackson and Walker Castler.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe that played a factor here in going away from
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  Speaker 2: Cameron Boozer, but let's go to was because your number
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  Speaker 2: one player on your big board is still available. However,
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  Speaker 2: Darren Peterson is off your big board.
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  Speaker 4: What's the great I did have Boozer as my number
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  Speaker 4: one guy, but everyone around the NBA expected Darren Peterson
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  Speaker 4: to be the pick. Like Bugie said, the most talented
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  Speaker 4: naturally player in the draft. This is another a Again,
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  Speaker 4: you cannot go wrong with this pick incredible shock reator.
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  Speaker 4: But I think he showed this year was how good
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  Speaker 4: he was off the ball.
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  Speaker 1: And I think this clip really.
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  Speaker 4: Illustrates this looks like more like a Ray Allen type
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  Speaker 4: and that's something we didn't really expect coming in right
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  Speaker 4: before this year. He was an on ball guy. I
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  Speaker 4: compare him to Devin Booker a little bit in terms
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  Speaker 4: of a guy who could be interchangeable. You can put
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  Speaker 4: him on the ball, but obviously slide off it. And
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  Speaker 4: so we are now with Utah and like Boogie said,
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  Speaker 4: there's gonna be an interesting fit in the backcourt with
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  Speaker 4: Darren and with let's see, we're gonna knock Kessler out
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  Speaker 4: of here, We're gonna put let's put market In down low.
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  Speaker 4: With the four. You've got an interesting lineup. You've got
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  Speaker 4: a lot of size in the back court. You got
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  Speaker 4: Ace Bailey playing the three. Obviously there's gonna be a
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  Speaker 4: lot of questions on what happens with Walker Kessler, but
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  Speaker 4: there is a lot of firepower in the backcourt. Again,
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  Speaker 4: I think we only saw eighty percent of what Pearson
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  Speaker 4: can really do when he was at prolific. Again, this
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  Speaker 4: is an on ball shot creator, three level guy. He
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  Speaker 4: was a secondary playmaker. We didn't see any of that
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  Speaker 4: this year at Kansas. He played a lot off the ball,
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  Speaker 4: a lot shot fifty percent nearly on dribble handoff threes,
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  Speaker 4: forty on movement shooting threes. When he gets to be
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  Speaker 4: in the NBA and he's got a little bit more
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  Speaker 4: juice in his legs, he's got much better spacing in Utah,
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  Speaker 4: I think we're gonna see a totally different player and
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  Speaker 4: a guy who can definitely compete for Rookie of the
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  Speaker 4: Year next year.
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  Speaker 2: All right, I'm watching the chat here on the BR
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  Speaker 2: Live show. PDP is saying, Jake Fisher has the scoops.
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  Speaker 2: Let's go live to the fish Ball Fish. What's going
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  Speaker 2: on here?
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  Speaker 5: What's going on? Guys? Darren Peterson told me to my
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  Speaker 5: face yesterday that he did have some type of clandestine
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  Speaker 5: not anymore after telling it publicly to reporter, meeting, collaboration, whatever,
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  Speaker 5: sit down with Utah, and that he was happy to
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  Speaker 5: go to the Jazz even though he was trying to
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  Speaker 5: do some chackanery and be the number one overall pick.
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  Speaker 5: He's very happy to go there. He'll report. What's interesting
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  Speaker 5: here is that cam Buster, I do believe very much
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  Speaker 5: much was under consideration, and in that event, I was
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  Speaker 5: curious to see if Boozer went there what that would
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  Speaker 5: have meant for Walker Kesser's restricted for agency, being that
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  Speaker 5: that would have been clearly a loaded front line with
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  Speaker 5: Larry Markin and Jaron Jackson Junior already there. But now
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  Speaker 5: they completely avoid that situation. Peterson is the two guard
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  Speaker 5: of the future in Utah, but he goes next to
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  Speaker 5: Kyante George, who is going to have a very expensive
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  Speaker 5: restricted for agency or a rookie scale on negotiation coming
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  Speaker 5: up here. So how those two guys fit and also
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  Speaker 5: how they fit ultimately in the Utah Jazz Cap construction
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  Speaker 5: was a very big piece of Darren Peterson's camp, trying
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  Speaker 5: to steer him potentially to Washington. So that's just kind
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  Speaker 5: of the notebook dump that I have for you guys
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  Speaker 5: on Darren Peterson going off the board.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you Fish. The wordfish used was shikhannery. Let's call
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  Speaker 2: it what it is here on the couch boys, AJ
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  Speaker 2: Debots and Darren Peterson. I don't think they love each other.
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  Speaker 2: I think both these guys wanted to go one. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: as true lovers of this game. I think we've been
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  Speaker 2: craving this type of competitive gene from a new generation
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  Speaker 2: of guys coming into this draft. But one thing I
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  Speaker 2: will point out in previous meetings between Debons and Peterson,
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  Speaker 2: there's one guy who's always getting the better of the other.
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  Speaker 2: It's Darren Peterson. Car How much does that matter?
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  Speaker 3: I think it definitely matters because it means that he's
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  Speaker 3: taken that match up personally. These guys have been going
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  Speaker 3: at it since high school. What was aau playing for
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  Speaker 3: their high school teams all the way to the Big twelve.
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  Speaker 3: Anytime that Darren Peterson saw aj debonsa across from him,
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  Speaker 3: he set out to prove that he was the best player.
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  Speaker 3: And I think you can make an argument that when
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  Speaker 3: they were on the floor together, Darren Peterson was better
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  Speaker 3: than the number one pick in this draft, Buggy.
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  Speaker 2: How normal is it for that type of dynamic to
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  Speaker 2: arrive to an NBA Draft class at the very top
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  Speaker 2: between two leade players.
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  Speaker 1: It makes sense. These are guys that have been battling
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  Speaker 1: throughout their high school careers. I'm sure they have a
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  Speaker 1: mutual respect slash hate for one another, all in competitive nature.
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  Speaker 1: I think is good for the game. I think it's
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  Speaker 1: good for for the competitive competitiveness of the game, and
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  Speaker 1: we'll see we can see this matchup maybe later on
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  Speaker 1: in the NBA. We could could possibly be a vital,
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  Speaker 1: competent Final Sight matchup, So I'm excited.