DeMarcus Cousins has torn his ACL and is expected to essentially miss the whole 2019/20 season, just weeks after signing a one-year $3.5m deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cousins, 29, was working out in Las Vegas on Monday when he had to leave the court after reported knee-to-knee contact with another player during a scrimmage. There is no current timeline for surgery, though ACL tears usually take seven-to-nine months to recover from.
This latest injury blow is his third serious leg injury over the past eighteen months, having had the setback confirmed after a visit to team physicians in Los Angeles. If everything goes well as planned, Cousins could be poised to return in March or April 2020, by which time the Lakers’ hopes of a postseason run should be clear.
His teammate Kyle Kuzma had this to say: “It’s no joke when you get injured. This is our livelihood and something we love to do, it’s super-unfortunate for a guy like DeMarcus because you just tell how much he loves basketball through all these injuries – he’s fought back and tried to get back as early as possible. You just never really know… he was going to be a big part of what we’re going to do.”
Having sustained a left Achilles tear in January last year which kept him out for twelve months, the four-time All-Star suffered a quadriceps tear in April and was sidelined for much of their postseason run during his one-year stint with the Golden State Warriors.
Anthony Davis has already stated his desire not to play regularly at center for the Lakers, while JaVale McGee was originally seen as more of a backup option in the position. So it’s very likely the Lakers will target another big in the free agency market before the season begins in October.
Memphis Grizzlies’ Dwight Howard has been linked, while free agents Joakim Noah and Kenneth Faried are also among their options.
Information source: ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski
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