The Golden State Warriors’ newest member DeMarcus Cousins is well and truly on his road to recovery. Expected to be available to play in December, he is already back in the practice facility draining threes in his workouts.
.@boogiecousins looking 👌🏾👀
[h/t @warriorstalk, via @convo_ent] pic.twitter.com/Tl3JSQk8yL
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) August 20, 2018
Cousins shocked the world as he signed with the champion Warriors this summer during free agency. After completing last campaign with the New Orleans Pelicans, it was expected that the Pelican’s front office would re-sign the dominant paint presence and maintain the best frontcourt pairing in the league with Cousins and All-Star Anthony Davis. Instead, Cousins didn’t receive the offer he wanted from them or anyone else and signed with the Warriors for a bargain one-year $5.3 million deal.
The 28-year-old’s stock dropped drastically after his campaign was cut short due an Achilles injury he sustained with the Pelicans that ruled him out of 34 games and the entire playoffs. It’s the kind of injury that has derailed many stars' careers in the past, most notably Kobe Bryant who never really returned to his former self after he went down with it. Due to this long line of decreased production after Achilles damage, front offices around the league were hesitant to throw max type money at Cousins, and he decided to sign with the champions in a move that is still mind-blowing to this day.
Cousins has stated that he wants to be ready for training camp, but at this stage, that looks both unrealistic and unwise. With the caliber of talent the Warriors already boast without him, he is in a position to take his time with recovery and return to the court whenever he is absolutely ready.
Whether Cousins returns to his former All-Star level self or not is yet to be seen, but even if his numbers are cut in half, it will still be a significant increase in the production the Warriors have received from the center position even during their championship runs.
Once Cousins returns, the Warriors will have the ability to play five All-Stars at the same time while the rest of the league will have no more than two All-Stars on their roster as currently constructed.
The last time Cousins played competitive basketball, he averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebound,s and 5.4 assists per game. He’s already back in the practice facility and he’ll be looking to add a championship to his resume this upcoming season once he returns to the floor.
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