The four-time All-Star could fit well as a backup big.
Your Los Angeles Lakers have wasted no time exploring potential new additions to their standard 15-man roster since the window to sign players to 10-day contracts opened up yesterday.
Yesterday, LA worked out veteran shooting guard Tyler Dorsey, most recently with the Dallas Mavericks on a two-way deal. This morning, sources have informed Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report that a (technical) former Laker, and a former four-time All-Star, will be working out for the team.
DeMarcus Cousins, who reportedly has been getting his reps in six days a week in Las Vegas while hoping for just such an NBA opportunity, is set to work out for Los Angeles brass at some point next week.
The four-time All-Star could fit well as a reserve big man for a Lakers team struggling somewhat without Anthony Davis, despite the excellent offensive play of replacement starter Thomas Bryant. Cousins remains pretty athletic, and could certainly help the Lakers’ interior scoring and defense in limited minutes. The 6’10”, 270-pound behemoth played valuable minutes as Bobby Portis’s primary backup with the Milwaukee Bucks (Brook Lopez was injured at the time) and eventual MVP Nikola Jokic’s main understudy with the Denver Nuggets during the 2021-22 season.
He may no longer be the All-Star, ball-handling super-freak he was in his athletic prime before tearing his Achilles and ACL, but Cousins is still effective in small doses, and would be a very helpful stopgap addition to LA’s big man rotation, at least while Davis continues to recuperate from his right foot stress injury.
