The Los Angeles Lakers were reportedly mentioned as having interest in DeMarcus Cousins after his time with the Houston Rockets were to come to an end. Now, the latest NBA rumors state otherwise.
According to the LA Time’ Dan Woike and Broderick Turner, the Lakers are unlikely to bring back DeMarcus Cousins. The team will instead monitor other potential trade and buyout options.
“There are no immediate plans to fill Cook’s roster spot, and multiple people with knowledge of the situation said they don’t expect the Lakers to reunite with Houston center DeMarcus Cousins if he becomes available as expected,” Woike and Turner wrote. “The team will, however, monitor the buyout and trade markets for potential additions to their frontcourt.”
The Lakers do need another frontcourt option with Anthony Davis sidelined due to injury until at least the NBA All-Star break. They need an athletic rim-roller who can also protect the rim, both of which are not strengths of DeMarcus Cousins’ game.
Given how Cousins wasn’t satisfied with being the Rockets’ backup center behind Christian Wood, it seems unlikely he’d have interest in joining this Lakers team. Unless if he felt as though his friendship with Anthony Davis could help him. Regardless, Los Angeles has plenty of front-court pieces as is that are similar to Cousins’ skill-set and need a different style of player.
RELATED: NBA Rumors: 4 ideal landing spots for DeMarcus Cousins to consider
It’s not going to be easy for DeMarcus Cousins to navigate his way to landing on a team who needs him to be a starting center. He struggled to make a positive impact with the Rockets. He averaged 9.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists but went 37.6% from the field and 33.6% from the perimeter.
Teams who have a weak center rotation and want to take a chance on seeing if DeMarcus Cousins can get closer to his previous form appear to be the best potential landing spots for him. It just remains to be seen how many of those teams are out there around the NBA.
