As teams open camps, the Houston Rockets made the biggest move of the week with the trade of Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for point guard John Wall and a future first-round draft pick, and DeMarcus Cousins is excited to be a part of it.
“I think we have all the pieces to make a lot of noise this season, obviously on paper it looks great but we have to come out there and put it all together,” the oft-injured Cousins told reporters at the Rockets media day.
Cousins last played in an NBA game with the Warriors in the 2018-19 season before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers but tore his ACL and never suited up for the 2019-20 season and was waived just weeks before the pandemic shut down the NBA in March.
Houston signed the 6’10” Cousins to a one year non-guaranteed contract on Monday (November 30) and the former All-Star will now be reunited with his old University of Kentucky teammate Wall.
Wall has spent his entire nine-year career with the Wizards but the 30-year-old missed the 2019-20 campaign through injury and played only 32 games the season prior.
The move comes amid widespread reports that 2018 MVP James Harden, the league’s leading scorer, was seeking a trade from the Rockets after the departure of the team’s head coach and general manager.
(Production: David Grip)