Lakers plan on working out DeMarcus Cousins
With superstar center Anthony Davis still out due to a stress injury in his right foot and no timetable established for his return, the Los Angeles Lakers could use a little more depth up front.
Thomas Bryant, the temporary starter at the 5, has been playing extremely well, but he has no real backup, especially since Damian Jones, the team’s only other true center, has been played sporadically and is currently dealing with a toe ailment.
Therefore, the Lakers are expected to bring in veteran center DeMarcus Cousins for a workout in the coming days.
Via Bleacher Report (h/t Lakers Daily):
“Four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins is expected to work out for the Los Angeles Lakers at some point next week, league sources tell Bleacher Report,” Chris Haynes wrote. “The official date has yet to be determined, sources say.
“He has been working out six days a week in Las Vegas. The free-agent center hopes to impress a Lakers franchise in evaluation mode. As of Jan. 5, teams are now allowed to sign players to 10-day contracts.”
Cousins was once arguably the NBA’s best center, and he was selected to four consecutive All-Star games from 2015 to 2018 while consistently averaging over 24 points and 11 rebounds a game.
However, he has since suffered a torn Achilles, a quad injury and a torn ACL, and he has therefore been reduced to a mere role player off the bench.
The Lakers actually signed Cousins back in the summer of 2019 to back up JaVale McGee, which led to excitement and high expectations among their fan base. But his ACL injury occurred shortly afterward, which led to the team picking up Dwight Howard instead.
Cousins hasn’t appeared in an NBA game yet this season. He put up 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 15.0 minutes a game while shooting 46.0 percent overall and 30.3 percent from 3-point range last year.
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