Wednesday night, DeMarcus Cousins scored 15 points and grabbed 10 boards for the Bucks in a loss to the Raptors. Through 17 games, he averaged a solid 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds for a team in need of quality big man play while Brook Lopez recovers from back surgery.
After that game, the Bucks waived Cousins.
Now comes a report the Nuggets likely are picking Cousins up on a 10-day contract.
The Denver Nuggets are planning to sign free agent center DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 9, 2022
Cousins is expected to meet with Nuggets president Tim Connelly before a contract is officially offered, according to sources. Cousins also played for Nuggets head coach Michael Malone with the Sacramento Kings and had a solid relationship with him.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 9, 2022
Before a road game in late October, #Nuggets Michael Malone said this about Boogie:
— Mike Singer (@msinger) January 9, 2022
“I think it’s crazy that DeMarcus is not in the league right now. That guy is a very, very talented player.”
He's always had a good thing with Cousins.
Malone got a lot out of Cousins when both were in Sacramento, before the Kings canned Malone in one of the more inexplicable coach firings in recent NBA history.
The Bucks letting Cousins go was strictly a financial move, his contract was about to become guaranteed for the season. Bobby Portis has impressed as the starting center in Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo has played more center (those are the Bucks’ most dangerous lineups), and the Bucks expect Lopez to return this season. They didn’t want to fill a roster spot and pay Cousins on top of that. Instead, they signed Luke Kornet to a 10-day contract.
The Bucks loss is the Nuggets’ gain.