Lakers News: Free-Agent Signing Says LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo Recruited Him To LA

After trading away most of their roster for Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers signed five free agents that didn’t play with the team last season. DeMarcus Cousins was among the most notable of those additions, agreeing to a one-year, $3.5 million contract just a year removed from making his fourth consecutive All-Star team.

Cousins was on his way to potentially signing a max contract with the New Orleans Pelicans before tearing his Achilles on Jan. 26, 2018. He returned almost exactly a year later and played 30 games for the Golden State Warriors in the 2018-2019 season, only to suffer a quad injury in the playoffs that forced him to miss another six weeks.

It’s unknown what kind of player Cousins will be after those injuries. He averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in just 25.7 minutes per game in the regular season. Cousins looked unplayable at times in the 2019 NBA Finals when he came back from his second major injury.

The Lakers’ top players know what Cousins is capable of when healthy, and they wanted him to join a team that is among the favorites to compete for the 2020 NBA Finals.

“A (Davis), (Rajon) Rondo and LeBron (James) kind of all threw a pitch in there to get me here. I really talked a lot with Rondo,” Cousins said in an interview with Spectrum SportsNet Wednesday night. “Those are two really good friends of mine. Obviously, we’ve had a chance to play and be teammates previously before this. We enjoyed our time together as teammates. We’ve always talked about teaming back up and the opportunity presented itself.”

Davis and Rondo were on the Pelicans in Cousins’ one season with the team. Cousins and Davis were both slated to start in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game before Cousins got hurt. The Pelicans went 27-21 when their starting frontcourt was healthy, ultimately making it to the second round of the playoffs, where they were defeated by the eventual champion Warriors.

The two big men thrived alongside each other. Cousins averaged 25.2 points with career-highs of 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Davis went on to finish third in both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year voting.

“We just know how to play beside each other,” Cousins said of Davis. “We’re both unselfish players. We both go out and try to win the game at all costs. It’s always about making the right play between me and him, and we’re genuinely happy for one another.”

Rondo had his best season in the last few years when he was with New Orleans. He returns to the Lakers after averaging 9.2 points and 8.0 assists per game with Los Angeles last year.

Yahoo Sports has reported that James will be the Lakers’ starting point guard, though head coach Frank Vogel said on ESPN Wednesday that no decisions regarding the starting lineup have been made.

If James does play point guard, it could allow Davis and Cousins to play on the court at the same time, giving them a chance to replicate the success they had not long ago.

Danny Green received the most money of any Lakers’ free agent. Both Green and Kyle Kuzma are likely to be in the starting lineup to begin the regular season.