NBA Rumors: Milwaukee Bucks Turn To All-Star Center For Added Muscle Inside

KEY POINTS

The Bucks are reportedly set to take a chance on DeMarcus Cousins to fill in for an injured Brook Lopez
Cousins is expected to take the load off an overworked Giannis Antetokounmpo
Cousins could use the opportunity to show the Bucks he can still be useful

The Milwaukee Bucks have a big hole in the middle with regular big man Brook Lopez sidelined due to a back injury.

With no assurance on when the All-Star center will be back, the defending champions are giving DeMarcus Cousins a try to fill up the huge void.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic, sources claim that the Bucks plan to sign the four-time All-Star center to a non-guaranteed one-year contract.

With Lopez out, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer has been forced to utilize Bobby Portis and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the middle.

Adding Cousins may not only bring in a legitimate slotman but also relieve some load of Portis and Antetokounmpo.

"I feel like it's a lot of load on me and Bobby [Portis] to be those bigs all the time on the court, so just adding another guy, that'll be nice," Antetokounmpo stated in a report from NBC Sports.

Shedding some load off Antetokounmpo is important for the Bucks, especially once the playoffs come around.

Right now, the two-time NBA MVP has been playing 62% of his minutes this NBA season at center.

Although the adjustments have been working for Budenholzer, the fact is that Milwaukee needs to preserve him for the bigger wars once the postseason comes around.

Hence, Cousins could resolve all that. The 6-foot-10 center has been waiting for a call-up and there is perhaps nothing surreal than being given a chance by a team who is coming off a successful NBA title campaign.

However, the temperamental big man will have to prove that he deserves to be on the Bucks’ roster.

The NBA career of “Boogie” took a different twist since injuries continued to pile up.

Last season, Cousins split his time with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.

The All-Star center played 16 games with the Clips, averaging 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 12.9 minutes of action.

Cousins’ stint with the Bucks holds no promises, but he can alter all that if he contributes and helps Milwaukee for the time being that Lopez is unavailable.