Lakers Rumors: Free-Agent Signing Suffers Possible Injury, Could Affect 2019 Starting Lineup

The 2019-2020 NBA season is still more than two months away, and the Los Angeles Lakers already have health concerns regarding one of their biggest additions this offseason. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that DeMarcus Cousins is set to undergo further testing in L.A. Thursday after suffering a possible knee injury.

According to Wojnarowski, the potential injury occurred Monday when Cousins was working out in Las Vegas. The four-time All-Star was forced to leave the court, sparking concern about the future status of a player that’s dealt with serious injuries in each of the past two seasons.

The Lakers were able to acquire Cousins because of his recent injury history. Cousins suffered a ruptured Achilles in the middle of the 2017-2018 season that forced him to miss 11 months of action. He returned to the court in January of last season as a member of the Golden State Warriors. A quad injury in the first round of the playoffs kept Cousins out of action for a month and a half.

Cousins returned for the Warriors at the start of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. He had his moments, specifically when he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a Game 2 road victory, though Cousins was virtually unplayable at times, lacking the mobility he once possessed.

NBA teams with cap space didn’t offer Cousins the lucrative, long-term contract he once seemed destined to sign. He settled for a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Lakers, who offer him a chance to contribute on a title contender.

Danny Green and Avery Bradley both joined the Lakers on more expensive free-agent contracts, though neither player has the ceiling that a healthy Cousins can reach. Cousins averaged more than 24 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in each of the five seasons prior to the 2018-2019 season.

Even after coming off a devastating injury, the 29-year-old still managed to put up averages of 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in only 25.7 minutes per game in the regular season.

A healthy Cousins could be on track to be one of the Lakers’ starters. There’s speculation that LeBron James is set to be Los Angeles’ primary point guard. That could put Green at shooting guard, Kyle Kuzma at small forward and Anthony Davis at power forward, giving Cousins the opportunity to start at center.

The Lakers might have to rethink their plans if Cousins is going to miss any significant period of time.

JaVale McGee is the Lakers’ backup center. He started 62 games for Los Angeles last season.

The Lakers will take on Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angels Clippers at Staples Center on Oct. 22 to begin the upcoming season.