Among the key offseason additions to the roster of the Los Angeles Lakers is veteran center DeMarcus Cousins, who’s averaged a double-double over the course of his career.
In the opinion of Cousins’ former teammate, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers are adding a huge asset to their lineup.
Thompson, who will miss an extended period of the 2019-20 season because of a torn ACL, spoke to Arash Markkazi of the Los Angeles Times and explained his lofty opinion of Cousins:
“DeMarcus is a great teammate and I developed such a great chemistry with him, coming off screens and cutting off from posts. I’ll miss him. I know he’s going to be a huge asset for the Lakers. When they slow it down, he’s so good on the block and such a great decision maker. People don’t realize what a great decision maker he is. Above all, I love his will to compete. He was very hurt last year during our Finals run but he was still out there making a huge impact and getting double-doubles and he won us a couple games, honestly.
“He’s just such a gamer and I’m going to miss competing with him. L.A. got a very good player, who’s very hungry. I know he’s eager to get out there and show everybody he’s still one of the best players in the world because he has all the talent.”
Last year, Cousins was coming off an Achilles injury and played on a one-year deal with the Warriors, with the injury keeping him off the court for the team’s first 45 regular season contests. He ended up playing in 30 games and averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Those numbers were down from his respective career averages of 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per contest.
In the postseason, another injury in the first round of the playoffs kept Cousins off the court until the NBA Finals. His clutch performance in Game 2 of that series, in which he scored 11 and grabbed 10 boards, helped the Warriors even the series. In the last two games of the finals, he also scored in double figures, but the Warriors lost the title to the Toronto Raptors.
Cousins turns 29 next week and will start his 10th season in the NBA for his fourth team. A good portion of his career was spent with the franchise that drafted him, the Sacramento Kings, before he was dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans in February 2017. The following year, he suffered the Achilles injury and then signed with the Warriors last offseason.
While Cousins has also shown he can feed the ball and play defense, he also brings a volatile personality to the Lakers that head coach Frank Vogel and his teammates need to keep in check. If they’re able to accomplish that and Cousins’ on-court production goes back to his pre-injury form, the Lakers could make Thompson’s words prophetic and potentially go deep in the postseason.
