Veteran Center DeMarcus Cousins was released by the Houston Rockets Tuesday morning according to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic. Cousins and the Rockets reportedly agreed to mutually part ways, thus allowing the veteran center to solicit interest from teams around the league.
Beleaguered by a string of unfortunate lower leg injuries these past few seasons, Cousins is in the midst of an underwhelming season relative to the rest of his career. The 30 year-old Kentucky product has been averaging just 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds on 37.6% shooting so far this season.
Cousins has been a shade of his former self in the paint, instead electing to fashion himself as a 3-point shooter in trying to keep up with the changing NBA landscape. His shooting in both areas has been underwhelming, but what is most surprising is that he’s actually taken more 3-point attempts than 2-point attempts – 116 3-pointers vs 94 2-point field goal attempts.
Regardless, Cousins is a great value player and is a welcome addition to any team, but he may want to shave down his listing price as few teams are willing to shell out big money for a chronically injured big man who insists on living behind the arc. I think Cousins would best fit on a team in a role similar to the one David West played with the Golden State Warriors, which was to sit on the bench until it was time for you to come in and bang people around, set screens, and occasionally shoot the ball.
I for one can’t wait to see Boogie rumble in the paint again, but sadly I think his days of dunking in traffic are over.
Godspeed Mr. Cousins.