Bob Myers reveals more details about DeMarcus Cousins signing, ‘that's when I knew it was real'

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You already know some specifics about how DeMarcus Cousins ended up signing with the Warriors.

But there is more to the story.

Over the weekend, Golden State GM Bob Myers discussed how it all went down and what he was thinking as he spoke with Cousins' agent, Jarinn Akana.

"It was early in the morning -- I spoke to his agent. We had been preserving our taxpayer mid-level exception for somebody that might fall through the cracks and not get paid in a very tight free agency market," Myers explained to Greg Papa and Bonta Hill on 95.7 The Game. "But mostly we were thinking wings. I figured if something like that were to happen it would happen July 8th, 9th, 10th.

"But we got the call and I just said, 'Look. We don't have anything more,' because we've talked about other high-level free agents and the thought from their agent was, 'Can you do a sign-and-trade? Can you get to a bigger number?' And I kind of said, 'Look, our roster is what it is. To move that many pieces around, to create $10 million in room, or $15 (million), it's just prohibitive, I don't want to waste your time.'

"So I thought that's where the conversation was going ... and I said to him, 'We don't have the money that you're probably commanding out there.' And this is the moment it became real -- he said, 'We understand what you have.' And I said, 'Well we only have the taxpayer mid-level.' And then when he said, 'I know,' that's when I knew it was real.

"They were very serious about it and they never really wavered."

Cousins will make $5,337,000 next season and become an unrestricted free agent next July.

Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller

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