Los Angeles Lakers: How good of an additon is DeMarcus Cousins?

The Los Angeles Lakers added DeMarcus Cousins to a bargain one-year, $3.5 million deal. After the initial enthusiasm of adding a former All-Star to the team, we can now evaluate the acquisition with its pros and cons.

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to hit it big on a bargain deal with DeMarcus Cousins. Just one season ago DeMarcus Cousins was an All-Star starter and arguably the best center in the league, putting up numbers of 25.2 points per game, 12.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in tandem with fellow All-Star and teammate Anthony Davis. A torn Achilles injury abruptly put an end to his season and on the line his whole career.

That tendon rupture is no joke. While medical science has made progress and players now come routinely back from a torn ACL a hundred percent, Achilles injuries still are career-threatening and a complete recovery is not realistic.

Doctors are clear, a professional who fully recovers from a torn Achilles can come as close as 95% to the player he used to be. He will not have back his full athleticism, and durability remains an issue. It is not uncommon for players who return from such injury to sustain other injuries to the same leg, which will never be the same, and to other parts of their body they had to neglect in order to work on the tendon.

As a matter of fact, this past season, playing for the Golden State Warriors, Cousins suffered a quad tendon strain in that same leg in the first round of the playoffs, recovering just in time for the NBA Finals.

Overall DMC had a good season with the Warriors. Although the team’s numbers got worse with him on the floor, with a net rating of -2.7, he had solid stats and moved pretty well, considering a player is believed totally recovered after one season from his return. Fortunately for him, he sustained the injury at a young age, which gives a major chance to have a better recovery, and his game was not based on explosiveness.

With a full summer at his disposal, Boogie will have plenty of time to work on his game, body, agility and footwork, coming back technically ready and physically prepared to sustain a full season. Anyway, surrounded by Davis and JaVale McGee, he will be able (or forced) to play limited minutes. Not putting too much pressure on him is going to be beneficial for his body.

He will likely start at center next to AD, as they used to do for the New Orleans Pelicans. Personally, I have never been a fan of pairing two dominant big men in this modern era of NBA basketball.

Indeed, in 2018 they were moderately successful in New Orleans as an All-Star couple, completing a 27-21 record until Cousins got injured. From that moment on the Pelicans finished the season on a 21-13 run, earning the sixth spot in the Western Conference and sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs.

This time around, though, DeMarcus will not be asked to be a dominant center, he will, instead, fill the role of stretch-five. His shooting is the reason why he’s been signed. Over his last season in New Orleans, he attempted 6.1 threes per game, converting a decent 35.4 percent.

Shooting will definitely be a point of emphasis in his summer workouts, as his main job looks to be to stretch the floor while the defense collapses on LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This will also mean even less stress on his body, which is always a good thing for his long-term health.

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Cousins was not obviously added at that price expecting from him to be a superstar, but the Lakers essentially got the same kind of player as Brook Lopez to a much lesser price (the Milwaukee Bucks re-signed him to a four-year, $52 million contract).

On the other end, Cousins might find himself not happy to fill that diminished role, willing to try to re-establish himself as a premier player in the league. However, we assume he signed the contract aware of what his role on the floor is expected to be.

His temper is another cause for concern, as drama, and on and off the court issues are an undesirable constant in LA. While his locker room burdens have long been silenced and he’s become a popular teammate, his fights with the referees are well-documented and it is where LeBron and other teammates’ ability to keep him under control will be crucial.

Finally, we do not know how his body and mind are going to respond after a season and a summer of work. He might have a breakdown and not be able to build on what he did through a good season with the Warriors, where he showed to still be somehow effective on a contending team.

Hopefully, he will instead show major improvements from last year, giving glimpses of his old self and helping the Lakers’ cause for a championship after too many years of drought.

As a whole, considering the price and the role he’s expected to fill, Cousins was a good signing for LA, adding to a deep roster of veteran shooters. The pros exceed the cons, while Boogie is going to have his moments in purple and gold.