Los Angeles Lakers: JaVale McGee will have large role with DeMarcus Cousins out

With DeMarcus Cousins suffering a torn ACL, JaVale McGee will have a big role once again for the Los Angeles Lakers.

DeMarcus Cousins has reportedly suffered a torn ACL while working out according to Shams Charania. Cousins was slated to play a big role at the five this year for the Lakers, so this injury will affect the Lakers plans at the center position and thrust JaVale McGee into a bigger role going forward.

Cousins was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason and looked poised to take over as the starting center. He played some of the best basketball of his career next to Anthony Davis in New Orleans and was hoping to get back to that this season.

After a down year in Golden State that included a quad injury in the playoffs last year, Cousins has seen his value dip tremendously. Once considered one of the best players in basketball, he once again was trying to re-create his value playing in an offense that was bound to give him many opportunities to score and thrive next to two superstars in Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

During the 2017-18 season, Cousins was putting up monster lines in New Orleans and looked well on his way to a max contract, but an Achilles injury changed those plans. Settling for a MLE deal with Golden State last season, looked as a way to play in a high octane offense, and get a ring.

It didn’t work out as planned and Cousins struggled to get any big deals this offseason, with many teams shying away. Playing next to James and Davis while staying healthy was a sure way to see Cousins get back to his normal self and dominate, as he was one of the best iso players in the league, he was a nightly mis-match.

Cousins underwent further testing to see the extent of the injury and confirmed that it was a torn ACL Thursday morning, the Lakers have built a nice team depth wise, and although McGee has played decent over the last few years he is nowhere near DeMarcus Cousins. Having an experienced and healthy Cousins would’ve been a steal of a contract for the Lakers, but now they head back to the drawing board at the center position.

Injuries are apart of the game and they will happen. This is a reason why not bloating the cap with three superstars and no depth is crucial. Depth is always key in the NBA, and if the Lakers would’ve gone out and got Kawhi Leonard they would’ve put themselves in a very tough spot with any injury that may have occurred.

JaVale McGee will absorb a lot of minutes at the center position and should now be the unanimous starter. Anthony Davis, although he isn’t a big fan of it, should move to the five when the Lakers go to small ball.