John Wall has tried to lure DeMarcus Cousins to the Washington Wizards in the past, and it sounds like he’s planning to do so again. The point guard said Wednesday that he hopes his former Kentucky teammate joins him in the nation’s capital.

“Oh man, you know I’m trying to push for that. I’ve been on that for like five years. I want to sign him right now,” Wall told The Undefeated’s Marc Spears on Instagram Live.

Cousins signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last summer, but he was released before ever suiting up with the team. The center suffered a torn ACL in August and was cut in February to make room on the roster.

Wall said he’s talked about Cousins with Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard, acknowledging that the former Laker should be in no rush to get back on the court.

“I'm like ‘bro, be smart, take your time to get all the way healthy so you can show these people what you’re all about,’” Wall told The Undefeated, via NBCSports Washington. “I want him to focus on that and get back to the Boogie that he was.”

It’d be hard to find two NBA players with worse injury luck than Cousins and Wall over the past few years.

Cousins ruptured his Achilles two years ago during his second and final season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Cousins inked a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors for the 2018-2019 season, and a quad injury forced him to miss a month and a half in the playoffs shortly after his return.

Wall last played an NBA game on Dec. 26, 2018. He missed the second half of the 2018-2019 season because of a heel injury, and a subsequent ruptured Achilles has forced him to sit all of this season.

If Cousins can even return to being a semblance of the player he once was, he’d be a positive addition for the Wizards. Cousins made the All-Star team each year from 2015-2018, averaging at least 24.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in every season.

Wall made five straight All-Star teams before getting hurt.

The Wizards are one of 22 teams headed to Orlando, Florida to finish the 2019-2020 season. Washington is a long shot to make the playoffs.

John Wall
John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards reacts against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Dec. 1, 2018. Patrick Smith/Getty Images
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