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Los Angeles Lakers: Pros and cons of pursuing DeMarcus Cousins

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 21: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors prepares a fade away jumper in front of Tyson Chandler #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Staples Center on January 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 21: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors prepares a fade away jumper in front of Tyson Chandler #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Staples Center on January 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Con: He is DeMarcus Cousins, after all

This is rather straightforward and might sound harsh but the fact still remains that this is DeMarcus Cousins that we are talking about. Despite what the box score might say, despite what his accolade indicate, he has not been the best teammate in the world and has shown many more negatives than positives.

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Cousins is in the same boat as Jimmy Butler, who has had problems on all three teams that he has played for. Cousins’ integration into the Warriors has not been as smooth as the team had hoped for, proving that some things are just more important than statistical performance.

It is not even like Cousins has had a great year statistically, either. Granted, he is on the Warriors and there is only one basketball to go around but he has not even looked like the same player. So far this year, Cousins is averaging just 15.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

The locker room dynamic already isn’t great for the Lakers after the trade talks with the New Orleans Pelicans were leaked. LeBron already seems so disconnected with the rest of the team and while he might connect more with Cousins, it likely would cause more divide in the locker room.

Plus, there is no reason to believe that Cousins is the kind of person that can handle playing with LeBron James. The media coverage is unlike anything else in the NBA and he will naturally become a fall guy for anything that goes wrong, something that isn’t necessarily LeBron’s fault.

Next. Prospects the Lakers can target in the draft. dark

Two wrongs don’t make a right and adding someone that is prone to causing tension to an already tense situation is going to blow up in the Lakers’ face.

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