San Antonio Spurs: Should team pursue DeMarcus Cousins?
With LaMarcus Aldridge out for the rest of the year, the San Antonio Spurs may want to take a look at a big man like DeMarcus Cousins.
The return of the NBA season also means the return of unfortunate injury news around the association. The first big calamity struck the San Antonio Spurs, who announced Monday that LaMarcus Aldridge would miss the rest of the 2019-20 campaign due to a right shoulder injury.
Evidently, this isn’t something the team was unaware they would be facing should the season have resumed, which it appears it will at the end of July; Aldridge had surgery performed on April 24. That means the team has known they would be without his services for a month and a half.
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What they didn’t know is how the NBA season would resume and if the Spurs would be part of that resumption, with the team on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. They now know they will be joining a majority of teams in Orlando, part of a brief regular season conclusion that could result in a playoff trip if they perform well enough.
Without Aldridge, internal eyes will be cast upon Trey Lyles to step up to the plate. The 24-year-old is putting up largely pedestrian numbers this season, averaging 6.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game off the bench, his first season in San Antonio. The power forward, however, did show flashes before the season’s suspension, scoring at least 13 points in five of his last six contests, including two 20-point performances.
Aldridge’s injury does tacitly give San Antonio permission to fall towards the bottom of the standings and improve their draft standing, but there’s too much pride with the franchise to intentionally do that. San Antonio has made 22 straight playoff appearances and would hold the NBA record if they could reach a 23rd this summer. That will be a tall task, though, as the team is four games behind the Memphis Grizzlies with eight to play (and the Spurs haven’t had a four-game winning streak all year).
All of this begs the question: should San Antonio pursue free agent DeMarcus Cousins? The NBA’s transaction rules are still evolving, but the Spurs should be able to replace Aldridge with anyone who was on an NBA roster this season – Cousins fits that bill, as he was waived by the Los Angeles Lakers in February. (The Spurs have an additional open roster spot as well.)
Under the proposed roster rules, San Antonio would be allowed to replace the injured LaMarcus Aldridge with an injury replacement player-either a G-League, Two-Way or any player that was on an NBA roster during the season.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 8, 2020
There was interest in Cousins last summer for the Spurs, at least among fans who erected a billboard trying to recruit him to the team. The big man is a star when he’s healthy, averaging 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game over the course of his career. Whether or not he’ll be ready to play (and play at his full potential) this summer is an open question, though, as he’s still recovering from an offseason torn ACL that derailed his Lakers tenure.
San Antonio also wouldn’t be Cousins’ only suitor. There are already scattered chatter about a Lakers reunion. He could also join a team with a more certain playoff position, giving him a better chance to win a title and more time to heal ahead of the postseason.
The San Antonio Spurs are in a tight spot, one DeMarcus Cousins might be able to alleviate. What’s the harm in going for him?
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