For more than one reason, the position of DeMarcus Cousins on the Los Angeles Lakers roster has seemed to be rather precarious. After suffering a season-ending torn ACL during a workout in August, he soon after became embroiled in a legal situation in Alabama with the mother of his 4-year old child that seemed to muddle his future with the franchise even more.
However, whatever the Lakers may eventually do with Cousins is a story that will have to wait at least a little while. Because Cousins is expected to be with the team when they head out to Las Vegas this week for a team-bonding mini-camp, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Lakers want to integrate center DeMarcus Cousins back into the team’s culture, and he is expected to be around the roster during the LeBron James-led minicamp in Las Vegas this week, league sources said.
If we are to assume Dwight Howard makes the team, as common sense and positional need will dictate, the Lakers will already have the league maximum of 15 players on their roster in addition to their two two-way contracts.
So if the Lakers are going to add someone to their roster, specifically via the buyout market, waiving Cousins at some point seems to be a no-brainer. But the Lakers don’t necessarily have to now, unless they want to separate themselves from his legal situation. It’s also unlikely any players they want to add in Cousins’ place will become available until closer to the All-Star break when the buyout market begins to take shape.
