The Milwaukee Bucks strengthen themselves once again and bring the former All-Star DeMarcus Cousins on board. The center should provide more depth.
Wie Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN) and Shams Charania (The Athletic) unanimously report, Cousins will sign a non-guaranteed contract with the reigning champion. So the 31-year-old can prove himself until January 7th, when the Bucks have to make a decision whether they want to keep the Big Man or not.
Milwaukee thus improves on the center position. Brook Lopez, the seeded starter, has only played one game of the season so far, after the start against the Brooklyn Nets the big was missing due to persistent back problems. It is still unclear when Lopez will return. With Bobby Portis and two-way player Sandro Mamukelashvili, only two real and healthy fives remain in the squad.
Cousins had played for the Houston Rockets and the LA Clippers in the preseason, but the Californians did not renew the contract with the four-time All-Star. For the Clippers Boogie completed 16 games in which he hung up 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds. In the playoffs it was only enough for 7 short appearances over an average of 8.3 minutes.
Due to numerous injuries, Cousins was never able to return to his old form at the time with the Sacramento Kings or New Orleans Pelicans. Within two years, the center tore the Achilles tendon and then the cruciate ligament. Over his entire career of 606 games, Cousins recorded an average of 20.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists with a throw rate of 46 percent from the field.
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