Demarcus Cousins, a center for the Los Angeles Lakers. Cousins was drafted 5th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. He recently signed a deal in free agency to join Lebron James and former teammate Anthony Davis. Cousins spent last season in a Golden State Warriors uniform. Last year he averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in just 30 games. Cousins shocked the world on July 2, 2018, when he decided to sign with the already stacked Warriors for one-year, $5.3 million contracts.
the four-time all-star played half a season for the New Orleans Pelicans after being traded during 2017 all-star game. Cousins was once the most dominant center in the league, and worth the max contract is now a former shell of himself due to his amount of injuries in a short amount of time. Let’s take a look at what those injuries mean for the future of Demarcus Cousins career.
Cousins Injury History
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Demarcus Cousins joined Davis in what was set to be the best frontcourt in the NBA. That year the Pelicans were deemed as a threat to the Warriors. All that came to an end on January 22, 2018, when Cousins tore his Achilles. The pelicans would make the playoffs, and coincidentally the Pelicans would meet the Warriors in the first round. Not having Cousins, effected the Pelicans and could not stop the Warriors Cousins would become a free agent at the end of the season.
The 2018 free agency saw Cousins having no physical offers from any other team but the Warriors for the mid-level exception. Cousin was set to return at the end of December or the middle of January. Cousins would return for the second half of the season and play in the playoffs but would tear his quad going running for a loose ball in game 2 of the first round against the Clippers. The Warriors would go on to win that series, and he would eventually return for the finals against the Toronto Raptors. They would eventually lose that series after injuries to star players. The biggest story at the start of the offseason was the trade that saw Davis join forces with James. That deal elevated the title odds for the Lakers but in a recent offseason workout Cousins tore his ACL and could potentially miss a large portion if not the entire season.
Cousins Future?
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Demarcus Cousins suffered a torn Achilles, torn quad and now a torn ACL in just 18 months. Those injuries affect your ability to play basketball, Your movement becomes severely limited, and it becomes difficult, especially for a player like Cousins who likes playing in the post. This also affects the player mentally. Cousins was ready to quit basketball after tearing his quad in a report by ESPN. In an article by NBA.com teammate, Kyle Kuzma commented on the injury, “It’s super unfortunate for a guy like Demarcus, you can just tell how much he loves basketball.” It was later said that he was going to be a big part of the rotation. Players, after suffering any of those injuries do not come back the same player there is a dip in performance. The prime example of this is Derrick Rose; the youngest MVP has not been the same player since numerous ACL injuries.
Cousins was looking to sign a sweet deal after the 2017-2018 season, but the Achilles injury jeopardized that as teams were not willing to offer him a large contract. This upcoming season was Cousins chance to show he’s worth the money. This was his chance to make a comeback and prove to everyone that he is still a game-changing player. The Lakers are now looking to sign another big man to have made up for the loss of Cousins. Options include Dwight Howard, Joakim Noah, Mo Speights, and Marcin Gortat.