LA Clippers: Team Has Interest In DeMarcus Cousins, But Is He Worth It?

The LA Clippers reportedly have interest in free agent DeMarcus Cousins, but is he worth signing after a lackluster season?

As June 30 draws closer, more free agency rumors have begun to pop up. The latest? DeMarcus Cousins is drawing interest from the LA Clippers. This is the first time the rumor has popped up and while the team is in need of a quality center who can stretch the floor, does Cousins really make sense?

Boogie is a four-time All Star and two-time All-NBA player, which certainly is more than any other player on the Clippers’ payroll can claim. His ability to score anywhere on the floor coupled with his rebounding would greatly improve the team’s starting lineup. The key? This is all assuming he can get back to that award winning form.

After missing most of the season recovering from a torn achilles, Cousins returned for the Golden State Warriors and was featured in just 30 regular season games. In those appearances, he put up 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists. The point and rebounding numbers were significant drop-offs from his career averages of 21.2 and 10.9.

These stats could be explained by a couple of things. First off, Boogie was still getting back into shape. Missing a year of NBA basketball really makes you lose the feel for the speed, so he simply could have had trouble getting re-accustomed to that. Secondly, he was on a new team. This wasn’t just any other new team though. This was the Warriors, meaning Boogie was never really the primary scoring option. In fact, with the starting group he was the fourth option at best.

Considering all of this, he might make a little sense for the Clippers. His game has never been predicated on athleticism, so the injury shouldn’t impact his performance too extremely. Is he worth a max? Probably not. But given the team’s current situation, he could definitely provide help.

Currently, the only center on the Clips roster is Ivica Zubac, who is a fine player, but likely not starter worthy on a championship contender. If the Clips land Kawhi, getting Cousins as a second-tier signing might make sense. A starting lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Landry Shamet, Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins would be threatening, even with the starting four spot being unknown.

All in all, Cousins makes sense if he comes at the right price. He fills a hole that the Clippers have and would be a great complimentary pieces should they achieve their ultimate goal of landing Kawhi.