Washington Wizards: 3 potential Ian Mahinmi replacements

DeMarcus Cousins

One of the more obvious targets for Washington this summer is DeMarcus Cousins. He and point guard John Wall were teammates at the University of Kentucky.

Cousins comes with caution as an acquisition, however. He’s suffered a laundry list of injuries over the last two years. But if he’s finally healthy, he could prove an immediate plug into their starting center slot. Cousins’ game doesn’t rely on athleticism or bounce like other big men.

And he’s only 29 years old. There are far worse times to be coming off of a major injury. Just ask John Wall. In Cousins’ last span on the floor, he was a threat on both ends of the ball, averaging: 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 30 games.

Here’s his best game from the tail end of 2018-2019 with the Golden State Warriors.

When healthy, Cousins can both distribute the ball and space the floor, two qualities that aren’t rare among big men on their own; but not usually displayed prominently in the same player.

Contending teams keep buying into the big man during the offseason, which is reason enough to be confident in what he provides when healthy. When it comes down to it, there are far more options that will cost more than Cousins, that would come nowhere close in production.