DeMarcus Cousins To Warriors: Lakers Passed On Signing Due To Current Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly passed on the signing of DeMarcus Cousins because of his expected return date from injury.

In the space of a few days, the Lakers have gone from a team who finished the regular season with a 35-47 record to championship contenders for next season after the signing of four-time MVP LeBron James on Sunday.

With the moves they are making or could make in addition to James, such as Kawhi Leonard potentially, many now feel the Lakers are the team to challenge or even usurp the Golden State Warriors, who have won three championships in the last four years.

But the Bay Area side would respond just a day later with their own signing in the form of four-time All-Star Cousins, as they used their midlevel exception to sign him on a one-year, $5.3 million deal.

Cousins, previously an unrestricted free agent, is currently recovering from a torn Achilles tendon but is arguably the best center in the league when fit, as he averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks in the 48 games he featured for the New Orleans Pelicans last season.

So why didn't the Lakers attempt to sign him using their midlevel exception?

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the franchise felt they could not sign a player, no matter how talented, that could potentially miss half the season as they wanted to be competitive straight away.

Cousins saw his season end in January due to the injury and is expected to return to action ranging from December to February according to various reports.

But despite being one of the best players in the league, the 27-year-old, who earned $18 million last season, did not receive any offers as a free agent.

"I was shocked. I didn’t believe it. It was a rough, pretty emotional night,” Cousins told The Undefeated on Monday. "I was f----- up. I said to [my agent] Jarinn [Akana], ‘Let’s make a call.’ He was shocked. It was very insulting to not receive an offer. But I understand. I prepared myself for this."

Cousins would then go on to pitch himself to the Warriors and a deal was soon agreed.

It makes sense as to why teams such as the Lakers neglected to offer Cousins a deal — missing half the season is not ideal, there will be natural concerns whether he returns to the same player especially after an Achilles injury, and even if he does, it may be too risky to offer more than a lucrative one-year deal.

The Warriors, on the other hand, have four All-Stars in their current lineup and can manage themselves on their own as Cousins is not rushed and continues to recover.

While they did not have an initial interest in Cousins, the way things have worked out so far have led to the stars aligning as the Warriors could be the first team to field five All-Stars in their starting lineup for the first time since the Boston Celtics did it in 1975/76.