2 offseason mistakes that the Los Angeles Lakers are currently feeling
By Jason Reed
2. Not bringing back DeMarcus Cousins
The Los Angeles Lakers had two chances to bring back a center for depth and they went 0-2 after hitting a double by signing Marc Gasol. It made sense to trade McGee to open up the space for Gasol, what did not make sense is letting DeMarcus Cousins and Dwight Howard both walk.
It seemed as if all signs were pointing to the Lakers re-signing Cousins. Despite releasing him to sign Markieff Morris last season, the purple and gold still allowed Cousins to use team facilities to continue his rehab.
It would have been perfect. The Lakers have the veteran Marc Gasol starting with the former All-Pro center coming off the bench and playing around the same minutes. Again, as much as I like Morris, having Boogie Cousins play those minutes would have been much better.
He offers the same floor-stretching presence that Morris does while also adding rim protection and a true center presence inside. I would have no problem with Cousins defending Nikola Jokic with Gasol on the bench in games. I have a problem with Montrezl Harrell defending Jokic with Gasol on the bench.
Cousins signed a one-year, $2.3 million contract and he has been pretty decent in his limited playing time this season. Boogie is averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 18.7 minutes per game. His three-point shot has not been great but his presence defensively has made up for it with a 2.3 Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
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Both mistakes revolve around centers that the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly had in the palm of their hand but did not re-sign.