Getty Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins
DeMarcus Cousins agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. This reunites him with former New Orleans teammate Anthony Davis. Both are also former Kentucky Wildcats.
Cousins played in 65 games for the Pelicans from 2017-18, while Davis was part of the organization from 2012 until last month’s trade sent him to Los Angeles. Cousins was drafted in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Kings, who sent him to New Orleans in Feb. 2017.
Cousins and Davis played out the 2017 season to a 34-48 record, which was outside looking in on the Western Conference Playoffs. The big men teamed up for the 17-18 campaign to lead the Pelicans to the conference semifinals after flipping the record to 48-34.
Both made the All-Star team. Cousins averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.6 steals. Meanwhile, Davis put up his career-best season statistically, tallying 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.5 steals a contest.
The 6-foot-11 Cousins and the 6-foot-10 Davis had New Orleans at 27-21 before Boogie suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Rockets on Jan. 26. He suffered a non-contact injury to his left leg while going up for a rebound.
Without each other last season, both performed below their 2017-18 averages. Cousins, who only played 30 games for the Warriors, scored just 16.3 points on just 48 percent shooting from the field. Davis, on the other hand, still maintained his All-Star form with 25.9 points and 12 boards a game.
Now, the two should enter this fall at full health, as well as a full complement of high-caliber players in Los Angeles.
Lakers Roster & Starting Lineup After Free Agency Signings
PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Danny Green
SF: LeBron James
PF: Anthony Davis
C: DeMarcus Cousins
Bench: Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Jared Dudley, Talen Horton-Tucker, Zach Norvell Jr. (Two-Way), Jonathan Williams (RFA), Alex Caruso (RFA)