Four-Time NBA All-Star And Former Top-5 Draft Pick Remains Unsigned

DeMarcus Cousins, a four-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-NBA performer and the No. 5 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, is still one of the key names available in NBA free agency.

From 2014-2017, there may not have been a better center in the NBA than DeMarcus Cousins. The former No. 5 overall pick in 2010 was a bruiser that punished teams on the interior when he first entered the league and over time, he began to adapt to the “new age” NBA in which centers started to take their games out onto the perimeter.

Once a four-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA performer, Cousins, 31, still finds himself as an unrestricted free agent this summer simply because of his injury history.

Cousins suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon during the 2017-18 season and then he suffered a torn left quadriceps muscle that left him sidelined indefinitely with the Golden State Warriors during the 2018-19 season.

In the offseason following his time with the Warriors, DeMarcus Cousins was preparing to join the Los Angeles Lakers and then he suffered a torn left ACL, forcing him to miss the entire 2019-20 season.

In three straight years, Cousins suffered three major left leg injuries, derailing his career as many knew it.

Fighting for opportunities coming off of these injuries, specifically his ACL injury, DeMarcus Cousins has since spent time with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and most recently, the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets last season.

Playing in a total of 17 games with the Bucks and 31 games with the Nuggets during the 2021-22 season, Cousins averaged a combined 9.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 46% from the floor in about 15.0 minutes per game.

He may be older and not have the same level of stamina he had in previous years, but DeMarcus Cousins can still be a valuable bench talent for a contending team in this league.

It will be very interesting to see whether or not a team looks to give the veteran All-Star another chance to prove himself during the 2022-23 season.