The Golden State Warriors should get Kevin Durant back sometime in the next couple of weeks, at some point during the Western Conference Finals.
It looks like they may also get DeMarcus Cousins back.
Reports had been trickling in of his progress in rehab from a torn quadriceps muscle in Game 2 of the first round against the Clippers. Those reports were not wrong, and Marc Stein of The New York Times broke the news.
Another reward for the victorious Warriors: League sources say that DeMarcus Cousins -- if he maintains his recent progress from a torn quad -- is on course to make a return to the Warriors' active roster during the Western Conference finals
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 11, 2019
This playoff run is why DeMarcus Cousins came to Golden State in the first place (well, that and he wasn’t getting other offers coming off a torn Achilles). Cousins had never been to the playoffs before and wanted to be part of a playoff team poised to go far, to earn himself a ring to add to his resume, to burnish his reputation, and all of that will help him land bigger free agent offers next summer. Cousins has put in the work to get back.
“For me, my goal is I ain’t planning on sitting,” Cousins told The Undefeated at ESPN.
Cousins could play a key role if he is back the next round, the Warriors could use his big body and strength against Denver’s Nikola Jokic or Portland’s Enes Kanter. In the Finals, there are undoubtedly good matchups for Cousins at the five, depending on which team comes out of the East (and that the Warriors make it through).
Things are breaking the Warriors way. Just what the rest of the league needed to hear.