With free agency officially underway, the Los Angeles Lakers are entering the most important offseason in franchise history. After five years of rebuilding, the storied franchise has established a young core through the draft and has two max contract slots available.
As the Lakers reportedly have the ‘inside track’ on signing LeBron James away from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Paul George immediately re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder on a four-year, $137 million contract.
Despite George being linked to his hometown team throughout the 2017-18 NBA season, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka shift their attention elsewhere now, and that appears to include DeMarcus Cousins.
According to Marc J. Spears of ESPN, the Lakers were among two teams who reached out to Cousins and are expected to meet with him soon:
New Orleans Pelicans All-Star free agent center DeMarcus Cousins received calls from the Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers tonight once free agency began and is expected to have meetings scheduled with both teams soon, a source told ESPN's The Undefeated.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) July 1, 2018
Although Cousins is only 27 years old and is considered one of the best players in the league, he is recovering from a devastating Achilles injury. As a result, he reportedly may not be ready to play to begin the 2018-19 season.
If the Lakers are able to sign Cousins, this could bode well in their pursuit for James. The four-time MVP thinks extremely highly of Cousins, one time calling him ‘the best big man in our game.’
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