Golden State Warriors: 3 goals for DeMarcus Cousins in 2018-19

3. Get healthy by the start of training camp

There’s only one reason Cousins is playing with the Warriors this season — he tore his Achilles tendon back in late-January. That’s a tough one to come back from for men of Cousins’ size, which is why other clubs were unwilling to invest significant money or time in the All-NBA center.

Settling for the $5.3 mid-level exception isn’t exactly what Boogie had in mind for his 2018 free agency. Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to get much better than that, so now he’s in the Bay Area, hoping he make an impact for the two-time reigning champions.

It’s going to be a long road to recovery for Cousins, though.

An Achilles tear usually carries a 6-10 month recovery timetable. Originally, Cousins had claimed that he was aiming to return by the start of training camp. However, back in July, he backpedaled on that stance a bit, seeming to hedge his bet and give himself a more flexible target for his triumphant return to the court.

Despite that, Cousins should stick with his original goal. It may not work out in the long run, but aiming for late-September/early-October seems like a good moonshot. Then, if he finds his way back onto the hardwood by late-October or early-November, it’ll still be a win.

Cousins is already making significant progress, as we recently saw from Boogie himself. It’s been less than seven months, so it looks like he’s on track to start for the Warriors sooner rather than later.