Logan Murdock walked into the Warriors\u2019 locker room knowing DeMarcus Cousins was pissed at him.<\/p>\n
The Ringer NBA writer appeared on The Press Box<\/a> podcast with Bryan Curtis and Joel Anderson last week and told the story of reporting on Cousins\u2019 injury timeline during the 2018-19 season, and what happened when the notoriously combustible center found out about it.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember one time I reported that DeMarcus Cousins was trying to come back around Christmas,\u201d Murdock said. \u201cThis is when DeMarcus was on the team for the year, and he was really trying to get back because he was trying to get a new contract at that time. It didn\u2019t really work out for him in New Orleans, and he signed a mid-level exception with Golden State. He was really trying to get back fast so he can get paid again.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019re a Warriors beat writer.<\/p>\n What do you do when Boogie Cousins doesn\u2019t like your story?<\/p>\n Full interview with @loganmmurdock<\/a> here: https:\/\/t.co\/EM3fOZ5txD<\/a> @byjoelanderson<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/O3Cahwnvfe<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bryan Curtis (@bryancurtis) February 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Cousins had ruptured his left Achilles tendon in January 2018 while playing for the Pelicans, and when he signed with Golden State on a one-year, $5.3 million deal that July, it was widely seen as a prove-it contract. The expectation was that Cousins would rehab with the Warriors, return to the court, prove he was healthy, and then cash in during the 2019 free agency period. The timeline mattered both for Cousins\u2019 future earnings and for how quickly the Warriors could integrate a four-time All-Star into their championship rotation.<\/p>\n Murdock, who was covering the Warriors for The Mercury News at the time, reported in late November 2018<\/a> that Cousins was targeting a return sometime after Christmas. The story cited numerous sources and noted that Cousins was progressing well in his rehab.<\/p>\n Sources: Warriors\u2019 injured center DeMarcus Cousins is ramping up his workload on his Achilles and is targeting a return to the lineup after Christmas. https:\/\/t.co\/S2bcXPYyut<\/a> via @mercnews<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) November 26, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n Cousins did not see it that way.<\/p>\n \u201cI reported on, you know, his what he wanted his injury timeline to be, and he was not happy with that at all,\u201d Murdock said. \u201cHe was pissed.\u201d<\/p>\n The confrontation came in the locker room. Warriors PR legend Raymond Ridder approached Murdock with a warning.<\/p>\n \u201cI went in there, and I remember Raymond Ridder is a PR guy \u2014 he\u2019s a PR legend in Golden State \u2014 and he came up to me, and he was like, \u2018DeMarcus ain\u2019t happy with you,’\u201d Murdock said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I just went like, \u2018And?\u2019 And I just went into the locker room, and I was like, \u2018Let\u2019s talk.\u2019 And he, you know, said what he had to say and, you know, I responded,d and that was that.\u201d<\/p>\n Murdock didn\u2019t elaborate on what Cousins said or how heated the exchange got, but he made it clear that he wasn\u2019t particularly intimidated by the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not gonna say like I come from like the hardest environment, but like, you know, when I was growing up, there was a lot more things to worry about than somebody yelling at you and probably not actually gonna do anything to you,\u201d Murdock said. \u201cSo, you know, you got over it. Once you, you know, somebody yelled, like I\u2019ve been yelled at before in like real life, with more dire consequences. So it wasn\u2019t like that big of a deal. So once I got through it, it was like whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n Cousins had a well-documented history of confrontations with media members, particularly during his Sacramento years. In December 2016, Cousins went on a profanity-laced tirade<\/a> at Sacramento Bee columnist Andy Furillo over a column\u00a0about Cousins and Matt Barnes being sued over an alleged assault at a New York nightclub, telling Furillo, \u201cWe\u2019re going to have some real f*cking issues. Don\u2019t ever mention my brother again.\u201d In 2012, Cousins was\u00a0<\/a>suspended for two games<\/a> after confronting Spurs broadcaster Sean Elliott following a game, apparently upset by Elliott\u2019s on-air criticism of Cousins for talking trash to Tim Duncan.<\/p>\n Murdock\u2019s story turned out to be accurate, being that Cousins was assigned to Golden State\u2019s G League affiliate<\/a> in Santa Cruz for a full-contact practice on Dec. 10, and he made his Warriors debut on Jan 18, 2019<\/a>, scoring 14 points in a win over the Clippers. That\u2019s right in line with the \u201cafter Christmas\u201d timeline Murdock had reported.<\/p>\n Murdock, who left Bay Area News Group for NBC Sports Bay Area and then joined The Ringer in 2020, has carved out a strong reputation as an NBA writer. Kevin Durant put him on blast in 2025<\/a> for a Ringer column<\/a> about Durant\u2019s issues with Steve Kerr being a factor in his 2019 departure from Golden State, with Durant calling it an \u201cobvious opportunity for Logan Murdock to gain even more attention and try to revive his career by using my name.\u201d But Murdock has consistently produced high-quality reporting on the Warriors and the NBA more broadly, and the Cousins story is a good reminder of what that actually requires.<\/p>\n Beat writing isn\u2019t always just transcribing quotes and filing game recaps. Sometimes it\u2019s walking into a locker room knowing a 6-foot-11 center is waiting to yell at you.<\/p>\n \t