The Houston Rockets and DeMarcus Cousins are going their separate ways just two months into the season. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Rockets plan to release Cousins and will make the move official in the next several days.

Charania reported that the Rockets want to play a smaller lineup while also giving a chance to their younger players. This would limit the minutes for Cousins, something that both the team and the player didn’t want to see happening.

Cousins returned from an ACL tear this season, inking a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Rockets in December. During his time in Houston, the 30-year-old former All-Star mostly played off the bench but managed to be fairly productive in that role.

In 25 games as a Rocket, Cousins averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds while playing 20.2 minutes per game. His form was especially top-notch as of late, scoring in double digits in the last four games, including a 19-point effort against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Despite struggling to remain on the court in recent years, DeMarcus Cousins is expected to attract a significant interest among championship contenders. While he is long removed from his All-Star form, Cousins still can be a significant contributor in the right system and with the right workload that would minimize injury risk.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the main favorites to land Cousins at the moment, but they are expected to face competition from the Portland Trail Blazers and NY Knicks, among other teams.

The post DeMarcus Cousins and Rockets Expected to Part Ways appeared first on SportzBonanza.

DeMarcus Cousins is leaving Los Angeles Lakers without even making a debut for the franchise. Lakers waived Cousins over the weekend in order to free a roster spot for Markieff Morris.

Cousins joined the Lakers in the offseason, but ended up tearing his ACL during the preseason workouts. Although there were some speculations that he might return in time for playoffs, the team decided to go with the option that can help them right now.

That option turned out to be Morris, who managed to get a buyout from Detroit Pistons in recent days. The 30-year-old was reportedly signed using a $1.75 million disabled player exception that Lakers received after Cousins got injured.

Markieff Morris will provide the Lakers with much-needed depth, and he could also fix their shooting struggles. Morris played 44 games with the Pistons this season, contributing with 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds. Most importantly, he was a good defender and efficient from the three-point line, making 39.7 percent of his threes.

Morris will play a backup role for Anthony Davis, taking some of his workload and enabling him to stay fresh for the postseason. His addition could also benefit Kyle Kuzma, who will be able to spend more time playing small forward; a position he is more efficient in.

Lakers are currently No.1 in the West with 43-12 record. Their next game is against New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, which is when Morris might make his debut.

The post Lakers Waive DeMarcus Cousins, Sign Markieff Morris appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Los Angeles Lakers haven’t given up on DeMarcus Cousins yet. Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Sunday that the team won’t rule out the possibility of Cousins returning from his ACL injury before the end of the season.

Cousins signed a one-year deal with the Lakers in July 2019, but ended up tearing his ACL during preseason workouts in August. He underwent a surgery to repair the damage and was expected to be out until 2020/21 NBA season. Still, Vogel hopes that the 29-year-old could be ready in time for playoffs this season.

“We’ve not closed the door on that,” – said Vogel. “We’ll just — we’re going to be a wait and see. With these injuries that are long rehabs, you have to see and take it kind of month to month and see where he’s at. But we’ve not closed the door on a possible return for him.”

The ACL tear was the second major injury DeMarcus Cousins has suffered in less than two years. In January 2018, while still with New Orleans Pelicans, he tore his left Achilles and was ruled out for the 2018/19 season. Cousins returned to the court in January 2019, this time as a member of Golden State Warriors, and ended up playing 30 regular-season games last season.

During his time with the Warriors, Cousins averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.

The post Lakers Still Hope DeMarcus Cousins Will Play This Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Lakers’ new big man DeMarcus Cousins is now dealing with a knee injury that he suffered during offseason workouts, leaving the team brass to wonder if they’ll be able to count on the oft-injured superstar for this season.

Cousins reportedly crashed knees with a practice partner during a training session on Monday in Las Vegas and immediately noticed that there was a problem.

The forward, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Lakers earlier this offseason, is set to undergo further testing in Los Angeles to determine the extent of the injury on Thursday.

If Cousins ends up missing any amount of time with this injury, it will have been the third lower-body injury that has kept him off the court during the past three years. Cousins missed most of the 2017-18 season and the first part of last season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon, and then suffered a quad injury that kept him sidelined for much of last season with the Warriors.

The four-time All-Star is one of the most productive big men in the league when healthy, but he’s only managed to play in 88 combined games over the past two seasons.

The Lakers now must cross their fingers and hope that the newest Cousins injury scare isn’t too serious.

The post DeMarcus Cousins Suffers Knee Injury in Preseason Workout appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Following Kawhi Leonard’s signing with LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers proceeded on spending the $32 million they had in the salary cap. One of the first moves that the Lakers made in the aftermath of Leonard’s decision was resigning Rajon Rondo to a one-year deal and bringing in DeMarcus Cousins and Danny Green.

Rondo’s first season with the Lakers was marked with injuries, and he only managed to play 46 games in total in 2018/19. Still, he was quite effective when on the field, managing to average 9.2 points, 8.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. He returns to Lakers on a veteran minimum deal.

Cousins might not be the third star Lakers wanted to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but he was the best that was left on the market. The 28-year-old big man wasn’t in demand this summer due to injury history concerns off-the-court behavior and jumped on the opportunity to play for championship contender hoping to rebuild his reputation. Cousins played a total of 30 regular-season games with the Golden State Warriors last season, averaging 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.

Finally, Lakers signed Green, who is fresh off winning an NBA title with Toronto Raptors, to a two-year $30 million deal. The 32-year-old shooting guard averaged 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds with the Raptors last season while shooting 45.5 percent from the 3-point line.

This wasn’t the end of Lakers’ action, as they also re-signed JaVale McGee, Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope while adding Warriors’ guard Quinn Cook on a two-year, $6 million deal.

The post Lakers Re-Sign Rajon Rondo, Add DeMarcus Cousins and Danny Green appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Houston Rockets and DeMarcus Cousins are going their separate ways just two months into the season. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Rockets plan to release Cousins and will make the move official in the next several days.

Charania reported that the Rockets want to play a smaller lineup while also giving a chance to their younger players. This would limit the minutes for Cousins, something that both the team and the player didn’t want to see happening.

Cousins returned from an ACL tear this season, inking a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Rockets in December. During his time in Houston, the 30-year-old former All-Star mostly played off the bench but managed to be fairly productive in that role.

In 25 games as a Rocket, Cousins averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds while playing 20.2 minutes per game. His form was especially top-notch as of late, scoring in double digits in the last four games, including a 19-point effort against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Despite struggling to remain on the court in recent years, DeMarcus Cousins is expected to attract a significant interest among championship contenders. While he is long removed from his All-Star form, Cousins still can be a significant contributor in the right system and with the right workload that would minimize injury risk.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the main favorites to land Cousins at the moment, but they are expected to face competition from the Portland Trail Blazers and NY Knicks, among other teams.

The post DeMarcus Cousins and Rockets Expected to Part Ways appeared first on SportzBonanza.

DeMarcus Cousins is leaving Los Angeles Lakers without even making a debut for the franchise. Lakers waived Cousins over the weekend in order to free a roster spot for Markieff Morris.

Cousins joined the Lakers in the offseason, but ended up tearing his ACL during the preseason workouts. Although there were some speculations that he might return in time for playoffs, the team decided to go with the option that can help them right now.

That option turned out to be Morris, who managed to get a buyout from Detroit Pistons in recent days. The 30-year-old was reportedly signed using a $1.75 million disabled player exception that Lakers received after Cousins got injured.

Markieff Morris will provide the Lakers with much-needed depth, and he could also fix their shooting struggles. Morris played 44 games with the Pistons this season, contributing with 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds. Most importantly, he was a good defender and efficient from the three-point line, making 39.7 percent of his threes.

Morris will play a backup role for Anthony Davis, taking some of his workload and enabling him to stay fresh for the postseason. His addition could also benefit Kyle Kuzma, who will be able to spend more time playing small forward; a position he is more efficient in.

Lakers are currently No.1 in the West with 43-12 record. Their next game is against New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, which is when Morris might make his debut.

The post Lakers Waive DeMarcus Cousins, Sign Markieff Morris appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Los Angeles Lakers haven’t given up on DeMarcus Cousins yet. Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Sunday that the team won’t rule out the possibility of Cousins returning from his ACL injury before the end of the season.

Cousins signed a one-year deal with the Lakers in July 2019, but ended up tearing his ACL during preseason workouts in August. He underwent a surgery to repair the damage and was expected to be out until 2020/21 NBA season. Still, Vogel hopes that the 29-year-old could be ready in time for playoffs this season.

“We’ve not closed the door on that,” – said Vogel. “We’ll just — we’re going to be a wait and see. With these injuries that are long rehabs, you have to see and take it kind of month to month and see where he’s at. But we’ve not closed the door on a possible return for him.”

The ACL tear was the second major injury DeMarcus Cousins has suffered in less than two years. In January 2018, while still with New Orleans Pelicans, he tore his left Achilles and was ruled out for the 2018/19 season. Cousins returned to the court in January 2019, this time as a member of Golden State Warriors, and ended up playing 30 regular-season games last season.

During his time with the Warriors, Cousins averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.

The post Lakers Still Hope DeMarcus Cousins Will Play This Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Lakers’ new big man DeMarcus Cousins is now dealing with a knee injury that he suffered during offseason workouts, leaving the team brass to wonder if they’ll be able to count on the oft-injured superstar for this season.

Cousins reportedly crashed knees with a practice partner during a training session on Monday in Las Vegas and immediately noticed that there was a problem.

The forward, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Lakers earlier this offseason, is set to undergo further testing in Los Angeles to determine the extent of the injury on Thursday.

If Cousins ends up missing any amount of time with this injury, it will have been the third lower-body injury that has kept him off the court during the past three years. Cousins missed most of the 2017-18 season and the first part of last season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon, and then suffered a quad injury that kept him sidelined for much of last season with the Warriors.

The four-time All-Star is one of the most productive big men in the league when healthy, but he’s only managed to play in 88 combined games over the past two seasons.

The Lakers now must cross their fingers and hope that the newest Cousins injury scare isn’t too serious.

The post DeMarcus Cousins Suffers Knee Injury in Preseason Workout appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Following Kawhi Leonard’s signing with LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers proceeded on spending the $32 million they had in the salary cap. One of the first moves that the Lakers made in the aftermath of Leonard’s decision was resigning Rajon Rondo to a one-year deal and bringing in DeMarcus Cousins and Danny Green.

Rondo’s first season with the Lakers was marked with injuries, and he only managed to play 46 games in total in 2018/19. Still, he was quite effective when on the field, managing to average 9.2 points, 8.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. He returns to Lakers on a veteran minimum deal.

Cousins might not be the third star Lakers wanted to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but he was the best that was left on the market. The 28-year-old big man wasn’t in demand this summer due to injury history concerns off-the-court behavior and jumped on the opportunity to play for championship contender hoping to rebuild his reputation. Cousins played a total of 30 regular-season games with the Golden State Warriors last season, averaging 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.

Finally, Lakers signed Green, who is fresh off winning an NBA title with Toronto Raptors, to a two-year $30 million deal. The 32-year-old shooting guard averaged 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds with the Raptors last season while shooting 45.5 percent from the 3-point line.

This wasn’t the end of Lakers’ action, as they also re-signed JaVale McGee, Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope while adding Warriors’ guard Quinn Cook on a two-year, $6 million deal.

The post Lakers Re-Sign Rajon Rondo, Add DeMarcus Cousins and Danny Green appeared first on SportzBonanza.