NBA Great Believes DeMarcus Cousins Should Not Give Up On Basketball Career

Frustration is understandably written all over DeMarcus Cousins' face following another career setback. The 29-year-old big man was all set for a stint with the souped-up Los Angeles Lakers before falling prey to an ACL injury recently.

It remains to be seen what Cousins plans to do moving forward. There are speculations that he could give up and retire considering the injury bug has hounded him the past year. Recall that last season, Boogie had to get over a ruptured Achilles and a quad injury with the Golden State Warriors. The former Kentucky Wildcat showed some semblance of his old form before the sudden turn of events this summer.

Regardless, an NBA great and former Laker said he believes Cousins should not throw in the towel. Steve Nash strongly believes that the four-time NBA All-Star can successfully recover from his ACL injury and continue being one of the dominant big men in the league, TMZ Sports reported.

"He shouldn't retire," Nash said of Cousins. "He's still a young guy. He's a competitor. He's gone through a lot already. He can do it."

The 45-year-old future Hall of Famer pointed out how Cousins has proven he can battle back from injuries. It appears he considers the current injury as nothing new for Cousins and urges the 5th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft to keep trying.

"He's gotta keep trying. It might take him a long time to get it exactly how he wants and feel safe and secure, but he's still got a future," said Nash, who donned the purple and gold from 2012 to 2015 before retiring.

Having signed a one-year deal, the chances of seeing Cousins in a Lakers uniform for this season is close to nil. Although it is not discounted that he could try, pundits feel that it would be a foolish decision to rush his return.

Had Cousins played for the Lakers, he would have had a golden opportunity to bargain for a better salary next NBA season. But now, that too could be part of the growing frustrations on his end as he faces yet another setback in his basketball career.

For the Lakers, Dwight Howard has reportedly been selected as the one to take Cousins place. Like Cousins, the eight-time NBA All-Star also had his share of injuries and will have to do more to keep his spot. As mentioned in a previous post, Howard will be given a non-guaranteed contract although he is likely to make the team.