As first reported by Shams, DeMarcus Cousins and the Houston Rockets have decided to part ways. This comes right after the Rockets guaranteed the rest of Cousins’ salary for the year, meaning that the Rockets will still pay him, while he can sign with whoever he wants. According to the report, Houston wants to get younger and faster in their front-court, leaning heavily on Christian Wood.
On a personal note, I’m happy for Cousins. He gets paid no matter what, and no he has a chance to either contend for a championship, or get a big payday. His per game stats don’t tell the whole story. He’s averaged 9.6 points, and 7.6 rebounds per game, but in actually watching the games, you can tell that he hasn’t been used to his full potential. Not to say that the Rockets should have, mind you. They have a young roster on stars like Christian Wood and Victor Oladipo, not to mention veterans of the game like John Wall and PJ Tucker. Cousins was playing his role to the best of his ability, and I think that is the most that you can ask for from any player in the league. In the past couple of games, however, you can see that Cousins is much more capable of a larger role in an offense, scoring in double digits in his last four outings.
With this news, and his recent play in mind, there should be many suitors for Cousins’ talents. I mean, who wouldn’t want a 6’11”, 270 lbs, brute force in the paint, that can rebound and stretch the floor for you? He has much more to prove in his career, so who is going to be the next team that Boogie plays for? I have a few ideas.
Los Angeles Lakers
According to Kevin O’Connor at The Ringer, the Lakers are expected to be in the running for Cousins’ services. I, personally, think that it is very odd for this report to come out. Let’s not forget that the Lakers waived Cousins before the end of last season in order to sign JR Smith and Dion Waiters. The need is there, I will admit. With the injury to Anthony Davis sidelining him for at least a month, the Lakers don’t have a formidable big man to play with, depending on how you feel about Marc Gasol. Montrezel Harrell is a good player, don’t get me wrong, but he’s probably best suited to be that spark plug off the bench for the time being. The Lakers would get a starting caliber Center while they wait for AD to return, and once he does return, they will add much needed bench depth.
Brooklyn Nets
Now, I don’t think that this is super likely, just based on how salary capped the Nets are, but if Boogie is willing to take a pay cut, this could work out for both parties. Much like the Lakers, the Nets don’t have a formidable big man. Deandre Jordan is such a shell of his former self, that the Nets recently had Kevin Durant play Center for them. With all of the fire power that the Nets have, Boogie won’t have to score the ball, but it will be a nice addition to this offense, on top of being a reliable rebounder and play-maker outside of the Big 3. For Cousins, he can slide into the starting role, and be able to compete for a championship this season.
Miami Heat
If there is an available player on the market, expect the Heat to be involved. Although the Heat are finally back to a full roster with the return of Jimmy Butler, they have lost some winnable games. They did manage to beat the Lakers last night, but over the past 10 games or so, they haven’t been what he expected. Having a Center like Cousins come in and be a bench producer behind Bam Adebayo, it adds much needed depth for the Heat. Having Precious Achiuwa play behind Bam is a nice touch, but as of right now, he’s a raw prospect. With both of them, Boogie and Precious, on the floor, I think that the Heat can do some pretty cool things, namely having a spark plug player and a secondary play-maker. With both of the teams above, Cousins would be able to compete for a championship this year, albeit on the bench for the Heat.
Round The Game 
Leave a comment