Lakers, please do not trade for DeMarcus Cousins

So, the rumor is the Lakers are shopping for potential trades to bring in better three-point shooting, and they are looking at bringing in another big man. And, the word is that DeMarcus Cousins is on the trading block.

I realize if this is probably not a popular opinion, but I REALLY don’t want the Lakers to trade for DeMarcus Cousins.

Honestly, I know we are desperate for a big man, but Cousins is not the answer and he only exacerbates the current problems on the Lakers. We currently suffer with a big man in Marc Gasol who is nowhere near as mobile as he used to be, is shooting a paltry 40% from the field, and is virtually no threat to score in the paint.

Now we talk about Cousins? He’s shooting an even worse percentage than Marc... Cousins is shooting 37% this year!!! That’s beyond terrible. I’m sorry, but that’s not going to help the Lakers become a better team and it’s clear to me that after all his career threatening injuries, Cousins is a pale shadow of what he once was. The only way you shoot 37% as a center is if you are basically getting no easy buckets (e.g not scoring in the paint).

Lakers FO, please, pass on Cousins and try to find us an athletic big man who can defend that paint, rebound, and maybe catch a few lobs for easy scores. That’s the best we can hope for at this point.

IMO, regardless if he returns to the Lakers or not, I don't see any team trading for him. This will more than likely be a buyout by the Rockets. The funny part is that the Rockets had just guaranteed his contract. Go figure....lol.

Yeah Rockets threw him a bone. Now he can sign for vet min to finish the season. No trade necc and one roster spot to fill.

If not him, and he's close to AD, who then? Who else is available? Who else is likely to end up on the buyout market that would be better? Thon Maker? Some of us are pulling for the guy. Being sentimental that he can come back and play like the beast he was. Hard to know if that's even possible or not. Or what his role would be exactly. But we know him and AD in the p+r is deadly. Can he regain some form in LA? We certainly hope so. Dedmon (PF) and Ilyasova (PF) are out there along with Thon. You'd take them over Boogie? This is the question. Given the choice, I'm rolling with Boogie.

Other question is where they gonna find a 3 pt shooter? Courtney Lee? He's about the best FA right now. Or have to trade.

Yes, let’s stick with the status quo. That is working swimmingly..... This team is desperately in need of some help with AD out for god only knows how long. They were in need of help at the 5 position even with AD in the starting lineup and that is indisputable. We unquestionably downgraded in that area and it needs to be addressed.

I’m with Shep. If not DMC, who? My choices are as follows in this order:

1.) Cousins

2.) Bamba

3.) Griffin

4.) Drummond

DMC will be bought out by the Rockets and multiple sources are saying that is their intention. DMC has already been with the Lakers a year, knows the players and understands Vogel’s coaching style. It’s actually a really simple choice in my opinion. Rockets worked him out and we are bringing him back.

I do agree with you on one aspect.... I certainly would not trade for him unless it was for Dudley or something....

Griffin is interesting. I'd forgotten about him. But the guy hasn't dunked in years. He has no lift anymore. What happened to him anyways? His body broke down? Or? He showed flashes in Detroit, but maybe he just wasn't happy playing there? Hell. I wouldn't be either. Rockets want to play small, they'll probably look at him. There's lots of teams he could still help I suppose. Just not sure it's us. And he's not a 5. We have lots of PF's. We need a 5. I knew it was a mistake to get Gaslow and not Ibaka. Grrrrr.

Anyone else notice we've had a hole at the 5 since McGee/Howard left? There's talk the Cavs could waive McGee. So let's ask this question. If he gets free, who then: Javale or DMC? Or maybe Dwight? heh. That was also a gaff. Losing Howard over some miscommunicated text message. Sheeesh.

I would take McGee over DMC for defense alone. The only problem is we are not allowed to sign him if they buy him out per league rules. If he gets trades to another team and they buy him out, then we could sign him.

My overall choice would be Drummond, but I have a feeling he is going to end up with the Nets.

Drummond is on a $28.5mill expiring deal. How do we do that? They're trying to trade him. So they need contract value in return. Knicks seem the mostly likely spot. They're the only team with leftover cap space that would cover most of it. Maybe the Mavs. Don't see us getting him. I think for the money it has to be a McGee deal or DMC.

Interesting to note Danny Green may get waived by Philly. Might be a cheap pick up shooter. Tho he couldn't shoot here, but his D would be useful and maybe he'll find his stroke again. Or is there some league rule we couldn't bring him back?

DMC (or McGee) and Danny know the system and players. Easy fit. Low expectations. Get the band back together? Waive Gaslow? Or is he guaranteed?

Could have had Ibaka for the MLE. Sheeesh. That was clearly a whiff on Robb's part I must say.

OK, I was under the impression it was going to be a trade, but if the Lakers are just looking at signing a big man for the vet minimum, that’s a little bit less daunting of a proposition in terms of Cousins.

That being said, If the Lakers could get him to buy in on defense and rebounding, his statistics in that department have not been horrible so far this season. Offensively, he’s been a train wreck though and doesn’t help our team.

For a guy who spent virtually his whole career getting a lot of touches and being a primary option on the offensive end, it’s hard for me to think he’ll give up scoring opportunities and just focus on defense and rebounding like Howard or McGee did last season.

But it’s whatever, I don’t see him making a difference on this team. The Lakers would be better served to try and look at moving maybe Kuzma and a few other pieces for a more mobile, more athletic, more efficient big.

I get it if some of you guys just want Cousins because he’s a former All-Star talent, but the injuries he’s suffered in his career have been catastrophic. It seems clear to me that he’s nowhere near the player he once was as a former teammate of AD in NOLA ... and all the chemistry in the world isn’t going to magically remake him as a viable, reliable, consistent player IMHO; I think expecting him to have a resurgence is a vain hope, and we will be stuck with the same inefficient player he’s proved to be in Houston. Meanwhile the Lakers losses will continue to pile up in part because Cousins’ contributions on paper will not be contributing to wins

If the free-agent market doesn’t have answers, they should be looking at a trade for somebody better than Cousins.

I'm down for that. But who? The market is thin. From what you're saying, it seems like McGee/Howard is/are the answer.

it’s not my job to speculate who. that’s a job for Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office. sometimes there are players available who none of the insiders or armchair GM’s think will be traded, then a trade happens. All I know is we need someone Who can give the Lakers a lot more than Cousins can.

I guess the main source of my frustration when I look at Cousins is that if the Lakers get him, it’ll be evident that for some reason, the FO wants to largely ignore statistical trends when it comes to big men, and instead just opt to “go with their gut”.

if so, that proved to be an epic fail with Marc Gasol, who showed last season that he was trending downward significantly in terms of player efficiency and effectiveness on defense and offense. For them to make that mistake twice in a season just seems really stupid to me.

You could be right. I think the thing with DMC is his previous work with AD. And we need to decide if we need more of a defender or scorer. If we mostly need D then McGee is the man, or Howard. Then for scoring (and we need help on the perimeter clearly) then we can trade Kuz for a scorer. But who? Lakers seem to be bargain hunting. There's IT. CLee as FA. Or? Kuz would bring value in return, or should. But who would it be? The cheap route would be McGee (maybe) and Green if he's waived. Would that be enough?

Could we waive Gasoft at this point? Obviously Dudley is expendable. So we have ways to clear roster spots if needed. Looks to me like without help/changes, we are not likely to repeat this year. Just sayin'. And you know what I've said for years and years. LA is where good shooters come to die. All our shooter's stats are down from their former norm. Same happened to Green. It's been a trend for a long time.

And btw what happened to Horton hears a who? Where did he disappear to? Coudn't we play him more? He was tearing it up in the pre season.

I think the best case scenario is that they bring back Mcgee and hope that AD quits playing like a friggin SG. He needs to go back to the low post like he did during the playoffs, inside the bubble.

The biggest mistake they made this off season was losing both our bigs and bringing in a 51 yr old center. I feel Trez was a mistake as well. He does put up some gaudy numbers, but is undersized on the other end vs legit bigs. Should have kept the winning combination intact and just added Shroder. I also feel they that are under utilizing Morris. He was quite effective in the playoffs.

AD at the 5, Trez at the 4, LBJ at 3, KCP at 2 and Dennis at 1 would/should be formidable. And fast. If Dennis and KCP could hit their 3's.

With McGee 5, Morris 4, Kuz 3, Mathews 2 and Cook 1 would be quite the bench. Subbing/starting Caruso/Horton as needed for rest etc.

What's wrong with that? Except atm nobody can hit the side of a barn.

They should start Trez and Dennis more. And until/unless they get a 5, put AD there when he's back.

Clippers won't be an easy out this year fellas. They're better than last year. Denver is gonna be tough, Utah is tough. I'm not worried about anyone in the east atm. Getting TO the finals is going to be the challenge.

I am looking at the remaining games until the ASB. I know that I tend to be a little on the negative side of things, but I see us winning one or two of the games left without AD. The only silver lining is that there really isn't a home court advantage this year. We could end up at the 7th or 8th seed and it really wouldn't matter. With that all said, I would prefer that we win games and get some help. I really think we should give Cousins a shot. I have a good feeling about it. I don't think he was happy playing on that Rockets squad. To be honest with you, his performance wasn't terrible considering that he was unhappy. I understand the concerns, but what is the worst that could happen? We win one game until the ASB?

AGREE. also thought that getting Schroder was enough & bringing Dwight would have been really huge. one factor that Dwight leaving might be

the signing of Trezz, these two didn't get along as an opponent last year. but let's not forget how KCP has been hitting a wall. we just look old & tired like in 2010 Lakers team, thank god we still have Kuzma. but as a trade option, I'm open for trading THT as we need another impact player & i believe we can't resign him in Free Agency.

Sounds like Mitch has some work to do! Ooops, I mean Rob lol

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1364099583983423488

Getting ready to "Boogie"?

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2933096-demarcus-cousins-rumors-lakers-reunion-unlikely-after-rockets-release

Appears they are trying to make a spot available but apparently not for Boogie. Chris Mihm available? It wouldn't surprise me at this point.

I did read that there is significant interest in Whiteside but I am not sure how that is going to work out.

Whiteside would be a much better fit than Boogie- let's see if that develops.

Can I ask why you think that? Aside from his obvious size. I personally think DMC would fit better because he already has been with the team and understands and knows Vogel's coaching style. I also think he had already been getting along with the players that were with the team from last year. I do understand his health concerns though.

I can't speak for Dave, but I think the defense is the main issue. Even in his best days Boogie wasn't a very good defender. He is horrible now. I understand the reluctance with Whiteside personality (seems to be a good player that keeps moving so there must be a reason, right?) But I think a locker room of AD and LBJ can put him in his place.

My preference is still Drummond if he gets bought out, but I still think he ends with with the Nets if that happens.

I don't expect the Lakers brass to do anything in the immediate future. I know that they freed up a roster spot and it appears they are working on something. The more that I read with my understanding of the Lakers reluctance to make an drastic changes mid season, the more I think to myself that they are sticking with the mess they have already. They will lose a majority of the games up until AD returns and ride this season out. They will continue to overwork LBJ and we all know he would play 48 minutes if you let him considering his work ethic. I posted on a separate thread, but the Lakers management is really starting to piss me the **** off. Get ready for a blood bath this evening. They should sit LBJ for fatigue management.

Again I agree with Angeluus on Drummond, but not sure if the Lakers can get him. My next choice would be Whiteside and again it is a gamble with him because you got to ask yourself why has he moved around the league so much. Why did Riley let him go and Riley is a pretty good manager who knows players. Boogie scares me with his injuries, other then that if he could stay healthy I think he really could help the Lakers, but then again I have seen where some of those injuries never heal up right and he would be a big gamble.

Now as to the shooting woos from our guards. They have been terrible, KCP, Caruso, THT took a dump since they went to a nine man rotation. LeBron's legs are starting to wear out and you can tell by his presence at the free throw line when his shots start falling short. He will be worse by the end of the season playing so many minutes and with no help from the guards who are even refusing to take shots, they keep passing the ball all the way around and ends back in the hands of a tired LeBron.

I do not know whether to blame the coaching staff for that or blame LeBron trying to pad his stats. But that is terrible! This is a team sport, not a one or two man team or should I say only one or two players taking all the shots.

Expect another loss tonight against the Jazz, IF they can not beat weaker teams, I just can not see them beating a well oil machine like the Jazz.

Andrew bynum. Lol, I had to put that out there for old times sake.. 😀🤣

I about about 75% sure that AB can perform better than M. Gasol. I know, I'm a bad man...

I believe the Lakers will make some kind of move. What it is is hard to tell because the Lakers are hurting in two positions. First and most critical is the five spot. We do not have a true center. Gasol thinks he is a guard and is always positioning himself to shoot the three and he will make one every once in a while, but what a waste of such a big man playing the perimeter. Then the players to come in a relieve him are power forwards, not centers so other teams that have planned well and have big seven footers are killing our power forwards even though Harrell tries hard, but he is not a center and so is Morris same situation too short to cover a tall seven foot center. It was a big mistake to let McGee and Howard both get away and for cheap. Terrible lack of communication between Pelinka's office and Howards agent and the same with McGee. Although I do remember many in this forum were always complaining on McGee calling him names and all that kid stuff which was not right. I always thought McGee was a tall better then average center, and the same with Howard. Was not a good free throw shooter, but he was a beast on defense. Our guards really are not as bad as they have been lately. I really am shocked at how bad they have been playing. KCP a few games back could not miss hitting three point shots one after another and then the bottom dropped off and he has shot nothing but bricks lately and has lost his confidence seems like. ....

Yeah, I'd of like to have seen Quinn Cook, Mckinney, and Jared Dudley out there more than Gasol and Matthew's the last few games. These 3 can at least hit shots. What about Cacok, he'd play better defense, rebound,, and would score more than Gasol. Lame

As I've said for many years, the Lakers is where good shooters go to die. If we had gotten Ray Allen or Reggie, I'm sure they would have been shooting 24%. If we traded tomorrow for Curry, he would likewise be clanking iron all over the place. That's just our history. Has been since I dunno when. Think back to all the shooters we've brought in, and ask yourself how many worked out and stayed effective. It's a very short list. A list that consists of zero pple. Swaggy being the most recent perhaps. 1 good partial season, 3 bad ones. Prove me wrong. I dare ya. Perhaps coz we always have a superstar, at least the last 20 years, who said "why'd you take that shot? Give me the damn ball! This is MY team. Who knows. But it doesn't seem to happen elsewhere. And other teams have superstars. So it's a mystery, but it happens as sure as I'm writing this post.

Thus I'm not surprised that our 'shooters' have fallen off. Send them to another tean and watch their shooting numbers go up. Imo it is something that needs to be recognized by the team, and addressed somehow.

Yup health is a big concern with DMC, so if he can't play it's moot. Plus the team needs an interior defender with McGee and Dwight gone, and Whiteside should be better at filling that need.

Isn't the problem with a Whiteside, or Drummond, their salary? How can we afford it? And would Hassan be a problem if he doesn't get enough paying time? And clash with coaches, as he always seems to do? Pple always think, oh with LBJ (and AD) on the team they can control him. Pple used to also think the same of Kobe. It rarely turns out to be the case however. Problem players don't suddenly become non-problems. And btw the other Lopez brother may become available soon. Worth consideration? Or another 'past it-too little too late-should have considered him 5 years ago' player, like Gasol? As regards D... https://lakeshowlife.com/2021/02/24/los-angeles-lakers-rumors-hassan-whiteside-demarcus-cousins/ You might think that Hassan Whiteside is the better defensive player, if you just looked at the box score. But that is not the case. Whiteside is good at what he does, but what he does is rather limited, whereas Cousins is someone who can defend near the rim but can do more defensively as well. The advanced metrics paint a better picture. Cousins has posted a 1.9 Defensive Box Plus/Minus this season, whereas Whiteside has posted a -0.1 DPBM. Whiteside is right around average, Cousins is above average by that stat. And, since 2016 Cousins has a 2.1 DPBM, whereas Whitside has a 0.8. Cousins ranks eighth among centers with at least 300 minutes played this season, Whiteside ranks 26th �" out of 39. DeMarcus Cousins might be the more versatile defender, hence why his numbers are better, but Hassan Whiteside is better at protecting the rim. Whitside is a traditional rim protector by every sense of the phrase, and off the bench would be good enough as a rim protector to overcome any defensive deficiencies. Sure, he could get exposed a bit if the defense can draw him outside, but the Lakers would not be asking....

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/lakers-sign-center-damian-jones-to-a-10-day-contract/ar-BB1e3kIy?ocid=uxbndlbing

Really? We get Mitch back up in this *****, or what?

LOL...another bench warmer. Great. Another 4-6 mins a game guy. Great. Or garbage time guy. Great.

There are vet min options out there Rob. You gonna tell me this guy should take up mins vs getting McGee or Boogie? He either has something up his sleeve, or he's out of options. What this team needs right now is some fresh legs. All the teams that went late in the bubble last season are struggling. Can't be a coincidence. Clearly guys need their off season rest, and didn't get it. I know it's a boohoo moment, they're getting paid millions etc. But money doesn't give your body rest.

If it's not that it's something else and they better find out what in a hurry.

Caruso was shooting lights out the first 10 games, now he's horrible. LBJ is shooting 28%, Caruso 16% etc. Horton hears a who was on fire, now not so much. Their current troubles aren't just about AD. They should have enough to win games without him. If the balance is that fragile, well...figure it out.

At this point I wouldn’t mind trying out Greek freak jr. Gasol is floating around like a decommissioned U-571 sub..lmfao.

That is awesome..

Latest is that the Lakers are optimistic in regards to signing Andre Drummond, although the Nets have been linked to him as well. I'm sorry, do the Nets need anymore talent and where the **** is all this money coming from? Irving, Harden, Jordan, Griffin, Green, Durant, etc.? How could they have a dollar to spend on Drummond? Is it because of how the waiver provisions work? I am sorry, but if he signs with the Nets, that is really going to piss me the **** off. Cousins is still on their list but I think he is also linked to the Nets. Go **** figure. I apologize, this **** pisses me off.

I'm with you there.

I also was wondering how in hell can the Nets afford so many highly paid players. They have stacked that team with big contracted players. They have at least five players that have gargantuas contracts. We have two and seems like Lakers can not afford another high paid player.

I would take Drummond of all the centers mentioned. He is good, followed by Whiteside, Howard and McGee. I would not sign Cousins, I have been watching him playing with the Rockets and man he is not half of what he used to be. So I would pass on him.

I agree.

Drummond

Cousins

McGee

Are Howard or McGee available? Get them both if so, vet mins, clear a spot, get the whole band back together. If they can't get Drummond. Whitesides I don't know much about. But seems like trouble follows him and he's been passed around. COusins I dunno too. I like the idea, based on the past. BUt if he's not effective, or wouldn't be being asked to do what we need him to do, then better grab one of the other guys.

And I agree. Every season always seems to be a team or 3 that can get a whole bunch of top players and somehow not go over the cap. Supposedly. I wonder sometimes. We usually have 2, plus scrubs. And the Nets, those are all big time. Well mostly Durant and Irving and then Harden, man that's 3 max guys right there. Griff they got for vet min due to Detroit buying him out (or waiving?) and still owing him $30mill. So anyways he was cheap. Jordan, Green mid level guys. But don't forget they also have Shumpert and Shamet. And Vonleh. Deeeeeeep. So much for the NBA not letting a team stockpile, right guys? Mhm.

Btw, anyone else here wish they could take back their 'CP3 is finished' statements and talk the Lakers into bringing him him. The guy's a flat out leader, and brings winning wherever he goes. I realize deep playoff runs aren't in his past, but he's still ballin' and making the Suns relevant again. Would have been sweet. And btw how did the Suns afford that huge contract?

I really like Dennis Schroder as point guard. I think he was a great pick by the Lakers to replace Rondo, but where they messed up was on letting Howard and McGee get away.

The Lakers need to get Drummond if possible and a player that can shoot threes with consistency. LeBron tries to shoot three's, but he really is not a three point shooter.

I guess after watching the all star shoot out between Lilliard and Curry, maybe I am expecting too much out of LeBron. Those two guys can shoot from half court about as good as can be. LOL!

Lakers have two open spots on their roster, so maybe we can get some help for the team. Right now they do not look like championship caliber with AD out, and he really has not been playing all that good, even his free throws which used to be automatic, now he misses a lot. Hope he can come back to help the team for another run. Many good teams this season.

LaMarcus anyone???? If he gets bought out.

https://lakersnation.com/lakers-news-jeanie-buss-discusses-willingness-to-go-over-luxury-tax/2021/03/10/ Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss discussed the team’s willingness to go over the luxury tax in order to re-sign some of their key players this offseason, via ESPN’s First Take: It’s difficult with the loss of revenue due to no ticket sales in the arena. We are in a league that is dictated by a salary cap, a collective bargaining agreement so we have to abide by all those rules. But, you know, the luxury tax is for teams that have championship aspirations and certainly that is something that we want to keep the Lakers at the top of the....

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Lakers can't trade for Drummond. Neither can the Nets. Have to wait to see if he's bought out and clears waivers after March 25. That's a ways off. Hope they don't wait too long, as they often do, and miss out on everyone, waiting for one guy who might go elsewhere, if he becomes available.

Most likely Aldridge gets traded vs waived/bought out. https://airalamo.com/2021/03/10/san-antonio-spurs-latest-lamarcus-aldridge-trade-rumor-roundup/