The Los Angeles Lakers signing LeBron James changed the NBA landscape, but the Golden State Warriors answered back by coming to terms with DeMarcus Cousins just 24 hours later.
Although Cousins is recovering from an Achilles injury and there is no timetable on his return for the 2018-19 NBA season, the Warriors will eventually have five All-Star players in their starting lineup.
As the Warriors are looking to win their fourth championship in five consecutive NBA Finals appearances, the Lakers will be among the teams attempting to dethrone the dynasty.
The major factor is of course James, who Cousins believes is the best player in the game right now, according to Brandon Robinson of Scoop B Radio Podcast:
“They got the best player in the world.”
In addition, Cousins answered how the James-led Lakers might fare against the Warriors:
“They’ve got a chance. We’ll see what happens when the ball goes up.”
If the Warriors remain relatively healthy, they are favored to win yet another title. As teams like the Houston Rockets have attempted to outshoot them, the Lakers are going a different route, which has received criticism during the offseason.
Despite James winning three championships in eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances with shooters often surrounding him, Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka opted for tough-minded playmakers in free agency.
Whether it works or not, the Lakers only signed these type of players to one-year contracts and their first test will come on Christmas Day at Oracle Arena.
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