DeMarcus Cousins Return: When Will The Warriors' Newest All-Star Be Ready To Play In 2018-2019?

The rich got even richer Monday night when DeMarcus Cousins agreed to sign with the Golden State Warriors for the 2018-2019 NBA season. The league’s best team added arguably the league’s best big man when healthy.

Cousins’ health remains a big question mark. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a game against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 26 and was forced to undergo season-ending surgery. It’s why the four-time All-Star signed just a one-year, $5.3 million contract with the defending champs and didn’t receive a formal offer (according to Cousins) from any of the NBA’s other 29 teams.

Cousins, 27, might never again be the walking double-double that he was for the first eight seasons of his career. NBA players are often never the same after suffering serious Achilles injuries, and that’s especially true for big men.

It can take nearly a whole season for players to return from the injury Cousins suffered, and if anyone has the ability to be patient, it’s the Warriors. Golden State is the overwhelming favorite to win the 2019 NBA Finals, and they won’t need much help from Cousins to have one of the league’s best regular-season records.

After reporting the details of the signing, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted that the Warriors would be in no rush to play Cousins, who could return to the court by December or January. The big man, however, doesn’t want to wait that long before he can contribute to his new team.

“I’m looking forward to starting the season,” Cousins told The Undefeated in mid-May. “That’s my own personal goal, so we’ll see what happens. That’s what I’m working on. The doctors haven’t really given me an answer because of the time I injured myself and the amount of time that I have.

“It’s basically open field because I have so much time. But for me, I’m shooting to be ready for training camp.”

That timetable would give Cousins less than three months to get ready to play. Training camp should start at some point in late September, and the Warriors’ first preseason game could be scheduled for the last weekend of that month.

Cousins told The Undefeated during the playoffs that he had been rehabbing six days a week, calling his results “great” as he looked to make a speedy recovery.

“Some people may be aware, but they may not know about this injury. Usually you lose a lot of size in your leg and it takes a while to get that size basically where you have matching legs. For me, I didn’t lose any size in my leg, so that’s something that my doctors and the guys coaching me through this process have been raving about it. They are super excited about it,” Cousins said.

“I didn’t lose much strength. It’s a lot of positives. Like I said, everything’s been great and it’s in the right direction.”

If Cousins can even be close to the player that he was last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State might have a playoff run similar to the one they put together in 2017 when the Warriors posted a 16-1 postseason record. The big man averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 48 games. He’s averaged no fewer than 22.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in each of the last five years.

Golden State will have the ability to start five players that made last year’s Western Conference All-Star team. Cousins, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were all on one of the All-NBA teams just two seasons ago.

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