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Former Los Angeles Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins has signed with a new team. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Kentucky product is signing with the Guaynabo Mets of the Puerto Rican professional basketball league.
“Cousins, 32, will play in the spring season for Guaynabo with the hopes to finding a pathway back to the NBA next season, sources said,” Wojnarowski wrote on April 11. “The league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, has included several former NBA players in recent years.”
Cousins signed with the Lakers during the summer of 2019 as an unrestricted free agent. However, he never played for the team due to a torn left ACL and was waived by Los Angeles in February 2020. The Lakers wound up winning the 2020 title over the Miami Heat at the Walt Disney World bubble in six games.
Cousins played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets last season, averaging 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 48 games. The Alabama native has career averages of 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds with the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Bucks and Nuggets.
DeMarcus Cousins Worked Out With the Lakers, but He Never Got an Offer
Cousins worked out with the Lakers in January. However, the purple and gold never made an offer to him, per Wojnarowski. Zach Stevens of Lakers Daily reported on March 20 that the Lakers weren’t interested in bringing Cousins back.
“Sources tell Lakers Daily that general manager Rob Pelinka is not a fan of Cousins,” Stevens wrote. “Apparently, he ‘left a bad taste in Pelinka’s mouth,’ and the team is ‘adamant’ about not signing him.”
The Lakers added Tristan Thompson and Shaquille Harrison on April 9 to fill out their roster.
Darvin Ham Issues Statement on Lakers Signing Tristan Thompson
Thompson hasn’t appeared in a game since April 27, 2022. However, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is excited about adding the one-time champion.
“What he brings, his spirit, his positivity, as well as the way he’s played, years and years of championship-level basketball, championship pedigree. Great guy to be around. Great teammate. I’ve heard nothing but great things about him,” Ham said. “And having coached against him for a bunch of years, he and I have always had a great rapport throughout his career. I’m a big fan of him. I watched him back when he was playing at Texas, but just another great guy to add a serviceable player if we need to go in that direction.”
Thompson played four years with LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014-15 to 2017-18. The veteran has career averages of 9.0 points and 8.4 rebounds with the Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Kings, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. Thompson told Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green on the “Draymond Green Show” in March that he had a tremendous workout session with the Lakers.
“When I came to the Lakers workout, I wanted to make sure I was in better shape than I’ve ever been,” Thompson said. “And I made sure I had my shirt off on purpose. I had my shirt off the whole workout. … So when it came to that Lakers workout, I made sure I was in great shape. Dunking the ball, windmilling. I was doing stuff where Bron was telling like, ‘Man Double T, I ain’t see this since Cleveland.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah cuz I’m ready. Like f***ing ready bro. Like I’m ready. Like I’m ready to make this happen. I’m ready to help you guys make this push.’ And I feel like what I can bring to the table to help that team is an area that I think they don’t have right now.”
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