DeMarcus Cousins and the Houston Rockets have agreed to a one-year deal, per ESPN’s Tim McMahon. Cousins, once an All-NBA player, has not played competitive basketball since April 2019 due to injury.
Boogie Cousins early career looked destined for the Hall of Fame; by his sophomore year he was ranking among the top-five in rebounds.
However, that Springfield-bound career came to an abrupt halt in 2018 when Cousins tore his left Achilles tendon. Cousins, who was averaging 25.2 points and a career-best 12.9 rebounds per game, would not play the rest of the season.
That following offseason doubts in Cousins’ recovery led to a very quiet race for the then-free agent. He ultimately signed with the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors were in pursuit of their third consecutive ring and a fifth All-Star for their starting lineup. By the time Cousins was ready to take the court again, Golden State was 36-6 and the by-far favorites for the title. Boogie played out the remained of the regular season before tearing his left quad in the playoffs. He returned for the Finals, however scored just 50 points over six games.
After losing to the Raptors in the Finals, Cousins was once again a free agent in the Summer of ’19. Again greeted with few offers, Boogie signed with his second superteam in three years. The Los Angeles Lakers, who had recently acquired Anthony Davis as a compliment to LeBron James, brought offered Cousins just $3.5 million.
In the early preseason, however, any hope Cousins had of remaking a name for himself in the league were squashed. Boogie tore his left ACL; his second season-ending injury in three years.
Cousins remained on the Lakers until February, when he was waived.
If Cousins can rejuvenate his career, the Rockets will have a strong replacement for previously traded Clint Capela. More likely than not, however, Cousins will be a strong rotational player for a rebuilding Houston team… if he stays.
While the trade market for an always-injured center may be fairly silent, Cousins does hold high upside value to already contending teams. If, as anticipated, the Rockets deal Russell Westbrook and/or James Harden, Boogie could be used to leverage more picks/young players out of contenders.