DeMarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

DeMarcus Cousins’ 10-Day Contract Expires

February 20th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets have expressed interest in signing DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season, but for now the veteran center is officially back on the free agent market.

The 10-day contract that Cousins signed on February 10 expired Saturday night. It’s his third 10-day deal with Denver and the second non-hardship one, which means he’s not eligible for another 10-day contract with the team unless someone goes into health and safety protocols. For now, the only way the Nuggets can keep Cousins is to sign him to a standard deal.

Denver doesn’t play again until Thursday, so there may not be a rush to finalize an agreement.

Cousins has appeared in eight games since first joining the team on January 21. He’s averaging 6.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per night, although he’s shooting just 29.4% from the field. Even with the low shooting percentage, he provides a veteran backup for Nikola Jokic, which could valuable in the playoffs.

Cousins, 31, was out of the league when the season began, but he signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Bucks at the end of November. He appeared in 17 games for Milwaukee, making five starts, before being released on January 6, two days prior to all contracts across the league becoming fully guaranteed for the rest of the season.

A four-time All-Star earlier in his career, Cousins has become a journeyman player following three serious injuries to his left leg. He also played for two teams last year, earning a roster spot with the Rockets in training camp and signing with the Clippers late in the season.

Western Notes: Cousins, George, Kuminga, Kings

February 16th, 2022 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

DeMarcus Cousins‘ current 10-day contract with the Nuggets will expire this weekend, but head coach Michael Malone doesn’t sound like someone who expects to part ways the veteran center in a few days, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post relays.

“You can see all the guys on our bench, even on the court and on the bench, how much they’re rooting for DeMarcus, which is really neat for me, just from a personal level, from a family atmosphere type of a thing,” Malone said on Monday. “Like here’s DeMarcus, four-time All-Star, out of the league. Shouldn’t be the case, and he’s here with us, he’s found a home.

“I love him, and I think you can see all the teammates, when he has a play like that, whether it’s blocking a shot, rolling and dunking, hitting a three, you can feel the energy.”

Cousins has signed three 10-day pacts with Denver so far and the last two have been standard (non-hardship) deals, which means the team will have to decide whether to sign him for the rest of the season when his current contract expires. There has been no confirmation yet that the Nuggets plan to take that route, but it certainly seems like it’s trending that way.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

If a February 24 MRI on Paul George‘s injured elbow comes back clean, the expectation is that the Clippers forward will begin a ramp-up period of approximately two weeks and could return to the court – barring setbacks – during the second week of March, Chris Haynes reported on Tuesday’s TNT broadcast (video link via Tomas Azarly of ClutchPoints).
Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga has been named a replacement for Pacers guard Chris Duarte in this Friday’s Rising Stars game, the league announced today in a press release. Kuminga will replace Duarte, who is dealing with a left toe injury, on Team Payton for the event.
Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee believes there are a handful of parallels between the Kings‘ pre-deadline acquisition of Domantas Sabonis and their trade for Chris Webber nearly 24 years ago.

Nuggets Sign DeMarcus Cousins To Another 10-Day Deal

February 10th, 2022 at 8:02pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 10, 8:02pm: The Nuggets have officially signed Cousins to a 10-day contract, Singer tweets.

FEBRUARY 10, 3:59 pm: Now that the trade deadline has come and gone without the Nuggets filling their open roster spot, they’ll move forward with their plan to sign Cousins to another 10-day contract, tweets Singer. The big man is expected to be available for Friday’s game vs. Boston, Singer adds.

FEBRUARY 7: The Nuggets will likely sign center DeMarcus Cousins to another 10-day contract, a league source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post. However, it remains unclear when exactly that will happen.

As Singer explains, with the trade deadline just three days away, Denver is still assessing its options and determining whether to keep its 15th roster spot open to accommodate a potential deal. The Nuggets aren’t eligible for a hardship exception, so they’d have to use that lone roster opening to re-sign Cousins.

If they don’t bring back Cousins prior to Thursday’s deadline, the Nuggets will likely do so afterward. As Singer notes, the veteran big man earned praise from head coach Michael Malone and star center Nikola Jokic on Sunday after he grabbed nine rebounds in 16 minutes in a win over Brooklyn. His 10-day contract expired after that game.

In total, Cousins has appeared in five games with Denver, averaging 6.0 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 13.3 MPG while struggling with his shot (.257 FG%). He initially signed a 10-day hardship deal, which the team terminated early in order to give Cousins a standard 10-day contract after multiple players exited the COVID-19 protocols.

If Cousins signs another standard 10-day deal with the Nuggets, the team would have to either let him walk or sign him for the rest of the season once it expires. A player can’t sign more than two standard 10-day contracts with the same team in a season.

DeMarcus Cousins Cut, Re-Signed By Nuggets

January 29th, 2022 at 7:43am CST by Dana Gauruder

DeMarcus Cousins was cut by the Nuggets on Friday and then re-signed to a standard 10-day contract, Katy Winge of Altitude TV tweets. The signing was confirmed on NBA.com’s transactions log.

Cousins signed a 10-day contract under the hardship exception on January 21. That contract was initially reported as a standard 10-day deal and the team’s press release did not indicate the hardship exception was used. However, if it had been a standard 10-day, the team wouldn’t have needed to re-sign him within that time frame.

Jamal Murray was still listed on Friday as being in protocols, so perhaps this is an indication he’ll soon be removed from that list. It’s also possible that Cousins wasn’t deemed eligible to play on his hardship deal while Murray was the only Nugget in the protocols, since Murray is still recovering from an injury and wouldn’t have been available anyway.

Cousins has appeared in four games as Nikola Jokic‘s backup, averaging 6.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG in 12.5 MPG.

Cousins, 31, spent a little over five weeks with the Bucks from late November to early January, averaging 9.1 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 17 games (16.9 MPG) for the defending champs. Milwaukee opted to waive the veteran center before his salary for 2021/22 could become fully guaranteed, making him a free agent.

He can sign one more standard 10-day deal with the Nuggets before they must decide whether to give him a rest-of-the-season contract or let him walk.

Nuggets Notes: Rivers, Forbes, Cousins, Bench

January 24th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Austin Rivers, a DNP-CD on Friday, returned to the team’s starting lineup on Sunday with several players sidelined and logged 34 minutes in a six-point win over Detroit.

After the game, head coach Michael Malone said he met with Rivers on Saturday to talk to him about the ever-changing rotation, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets. Malone, stressing that his focus is winning games rather than making sure 17 players are happy about their minutes, said that Rivers is “a pro” who can deal with adjustments to his role.

For his part, Rivers said he’s willing to do what the team asks of him, though he believes he’s capable of providing more than he has.

“I know I can help this team win games,” Rivers said when asked what he discussed with Malone (Twitter link via Singer). “… I’m 29, I’m young, I feel great, I’m in my prime. I know I can be better than what I have played, too. You just have an honest conversation.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

Newly-acquired guard Bryn Forbes could eat into Rivers’ playing time, but Rivers said he “didn’t take it personally” when the Nuggets traded for Forbes, pointing out that they do different things on the court (Twitter link via Singer). Rivers is the more natural ball-handler of the two, while Forbes is the stronger shooter.
Malone was surprised that the Nuggets were able to sign big man DeMarcus Cousins in free agency after the way he performed for the Bucks earlier in the season, writes Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “This guy, after playing really well in Milwaukee, was sitting at home waiting for his phone to ring,” Malone said following Cousins’ Denver debut on Sunday. “That’s crazy to me. I don’t know if people are scared of him or what. But I’m not scared of him. I love him.”
Rivers said Cousins brings the Nuggets’ second unit a “grit” they need, according to Keeler. “Everybody knows he’s an enforcer,” Rivers said. “… He’s still got to get his legs back, but he’s going to be big for this team. Especially with that second unit. He’s going to be a problem.” Malone agreed that Denver’s bench will benefit from Cousins’ grit: “That’s the mentality that group needs. They’ve got to have toughness. You’re not just going to come out and run your offense and be all pretty. We’ve got to disrupt that, be physical. And if they can do that, (that unit) can help our team a lot.”

Northwest Notes: McCollum, Cousins, Vanderbilt, Mitchell

January 23rd, 2022 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

CJ McCollum returned to the Trail Blazers’ lineup this week, but the team is much different than when he suffered a collapsed lung in early December, writes Casey Holdahl of NBA.com. Damian Lillard is out indefinitely after abdominal surgery and Anfernee Simons has blossomed as a star with the starting guards absent. Before he began playing again, McCollum addressed his teammates to let them know he’s willing to accept a complementary role in the offense.

“CJ was home watching us play a lot of games and I feel like we’ve gotten a ton better in so many different areas during that time,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “He recognized that and, not only recognized it, came back to the team and said ‘Don’t worry about fitting me back in. Just do what y’all do, I’ll be fine.’ That’s just the type of professional that he is. Didn’t surprise me but it was good and I’m pretty sure all the young guys were happy to hear that.”

Holdahl points to two plays in the closing minute of Friday’s win in Boston as evidence of McCollum’s commitment. Instead of forcing shots against a defense that was keying on him, McCollum got the ball to open teammates both times.

“I get in where I fit in,” he said. “I know how to play the game, I know what I have to offer to this team and I know how to contribute. I told them ‘Keep doing what y’all doing, be yourselves and I’ll do what I got to do.’”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The additions of Bryn Forbes and DeMarcus Cousins may solve the Nuggets‘ problem of inconsistent play from their reserves, notes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Forbes, who made his debut on Friday, is already impressed by the passing skills of Nikola Jokic. Cousins, who might play today after missing Friday’s game with a minor injury, will add an extra dimension to the offense, according to coach Michael Malone. “When you’re a four-time All-Star, and you’re a guy that can put 28 points a night up, he has talent,” Malone said. “So many times this year we’ve seen second units just switch everything. I think DeMarcus is a guy that it makes it hard for other teams to just say we’re going to switch one through five and live with it.”
Timberwolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt saw his NBA career turn around after a trade that sent him from Denver to Minnesota two years ago, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “I was shocked when I got traded,” he said. “Honestly just because it was the realization that it wasn’t like college. … But looking back on it, I feel like it happened for the best, for me and my career. It allowed me to make a way and make a name for myself in this league.”
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell remains in the concussion protocol and will miss today’s game against the Warriors, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Nuggets Notes: Cousins, Trade Deadline, Hyland, Nnaji, Reed, Porter Jr.

January 22nd, 2022 at 12:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After the Nuggets signed veteran center DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract on Friday, head coach Michael Malone hinted that Cousins might stick beyond those 10 days, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets. “I anticipate it going well,” Malone said. Cousins didn’t play in the loss to the Grizzlies on Friday.

We have more on the Nuggets:

The Nuggets are looking for a bigger wing on the trade market, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Ideally, they’d like to find a 3-and-D player who won’t cost an exorbitant amount. To that aim, Orlando, Indiana, Portland and Sacramento are potential trade partners, Singer adds.
Bones Hyland, Zeke Nnaji and Davon Reed have received significant playing time recently due to injuries but only Hyland is likely to remain in the rotation when the team gets healthier, Singer opines in the same mailbag post. That’s due to his ability to ignite and create offense on the second unit.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said this week there’s growing optimism Michael Porter Jr. will play again this season. Wind posted a video on Twitter showing the forward, who underwent back surgery in early December, warming up prior to Friday’s game. Wind noted that the warmup looked similar to the one Porter typically does before actually playing.

Nuggets Sign DeMarcus Cousins To 10-Day Contract

January 21st, 2022 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

12:32pm: Cousins’ 10-day contract is now official, the Nuggets announced in a press release. The veteran will earn $151,821 on the deal, which will run through January 30.

8:21am: Nearly two weeks after reports first indicated that the Nuggets were expected to sign DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract, the two sides will finally complete a deal on Friday, says Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

While it took a while for Cousins and the Nuggets to make things official, reports throughout last week confirmed that they still had mutual interest and that a deal would likely get done at some point. When Denver made a two-for-one trade for Bryn Forbes earlier this week, it opened up a spot on the team’s 15-man roster, creating a path for Cousins to join the team without requiring a hardship exception.

Cousins, 31, spent a little over five weeks with the Bucks from late November to early January, averaging 9.1 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 17 games (16.9 MPG) for the defending champs. Milwaukee opted to waive the veteran center before his salary for 2021/22 could become fully guaranteed, making him a free agent. Word of Denver’s interest broke shortly thereafter.

A report around the time of Cousins’ release suggested the Nuggets were in the market for help on the wing and at center. Trading for Forbes gave Denver another option on the wing, and now the team will get a chance to audition Cousins at center for at least 10 days.

As Wojnarowski points out, signing Cousins today will maximize his 10-day stint in Denver, since the club has six games on its schedule between now and January 30. The last of those six games will be in Milwaukee against Cousins’ former team.

Bryn Forbes Traded To Nuggets In Three-Team Deal

January 19th, 2022 at 4:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JANUARY 19: The trade is official, according to a tweet from the Nuggets. As we relayed earlier today, the 2028 second-round pick acquired by the Spurs is top-33 protected, and San Antonio also received cash from both Boston ($2.15MM) and Denver ($200K).

JANUARY 18: Shooting guard Bryn Forbes is headed from the Spurs to the Nuggets as the headliner of a three-team deal that also involves the Celtics, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Forbes will once again join a playoff team, while Boston power forward Juancho Hernangomez and Denver’s 2028 second-round pick are heading to San Antonio. Two injured players, Nuggets power forward Bol Bol and guard PJ Dozier, will be sent to the Celtics.

As Woj details, the Nuggets, who at 22-20 are currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference, had been looking to acquire a wing to improve their bench scoring. Forbes, averaging 9.1 PPG on .432/.417/.898 shooting, fits the bill. The Nuggets had been linked to the veteran sharpshooter as a trade target as recently as yesterday.

Denver has been hit hard by injuries this season, so moving a pair of players who are expected to be sidelined for most or all of the season will help improve the team’s depth and will open up a spot on the team’s 15-man roster. A report over a week ago stated that the Nuggets were expected to add free agent center DeMarcus Cousins on a 10-day contract. That deal has yet to materialize, but Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets that there’s still mutual interest between the two sides.

The Nuggets tried to trade Bol to the Pistons last week, only to see the deal rescinded when he failed his team physical. Bol subsequently went under the knife for a foot surgery this week and is expected to miss at least eight-to-12 weeks of game action. Dozier will be out for the rest of the 2021/22 NBA season as he continues to recover from a surgery of his own to repair a torn ACL.

Wojnarowski reports that, at least at present, the Celtics intend to retain both Dozier and Bol through this season’s trade deadline. Bol could return by March or April and the C’s would have both players’ Bird rights in the offseason — Bol will be eligible for restricted free agency and Dozier will be unrestricted. Those plans could change if Boston needs to open up a roster spot in the coming weeks or months.

Hernangomez failed to crack the 23-22 Celtics’ rotation this season, averaging 1.1 PPG and 1.4 RPG across 5.3 MPG in just 18 contests. As Woj writes, by getting off Hernangomez’s $7MM salary and taking back Bol ($2.2MM) and Dozier ($1.9MM), Boston gets that much closer to ducking the NBA’s punitive luxury tax.

The Celtics won’t need to waive a player to accommodate their one-for-two trade, since they already had an open spot on their 15-man roster.

San Antonio’s decision to acquire a future draft pick and Hernangomez’s pseudo-expiring contract (next season’s salary is non-guaranteed) in exchange for Forbes, a role player on the 2021 championship-winning Bucks, could signal that the team has accepted it should be in asset-accrual mode in the weeks leading up to the league’s trade deadline.

The return for Forbes is modest, but that’s not a major surprise. While he’s a terrific shooter, Forbes is limited on the defensive end and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. He also fell out of Milwaukee’s rotation during the NBA Finals last spring.

Nuggets Notes: Cousins, Jokic, Campazzo, Barton

January 14th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been six days since word broke that the Nuggets intended to sign DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract. Denver has yet to officially move forward with that deal, but according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), the club still has “significant interest” in adding the veteran center. Head coach Michael Malone discussed the possibility during a radio appearance today without making a commitment one way or the other.

“If (Cousins) becomes a member of this Nugget team at some point, obviously you’d be adding a terrific player,” Malone said (Twitter link via Harrison Wind of DVNR Sports). “I think his short stint in Milwaukee is proof of that. He went to the defending world champions and played lights out.”

For the moment, the Nuggets may not have a clear path to adding Cousins. They don’t have any players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, so they’re ineligible to sign a player to a 10-day contract using a COVID-related hardship exception. They also don’t have an opening on their 15-man roster.

Denver does qualify for an injury-related hardship exception, since Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, PJ Dozier, and Vlatko Cancar are all sidelined with long-term injuries. But James Ennis is already under contract on a 10-day hardship deal, so the Nuggets likely aren’t eligible to add another player until Ennis’ pact expires next Wednesday night.

As we keep an eye on the Nuggets’ roster situation and monitor their plans for Cousins, here are a few more notes out of Denver:

Michael Malone believes Nikola Jokic doesn’t get the credit deserves for his ongoing MVP-caliber play, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details. “I think he is one of the more disrespected reigning MVPs that I can think of in terms of the attention,” Malone said this week, adding that Jokic’s lack of highlight-reel plays may undersell his impact. “… I mean, Nikola Jokic is not sexy. He’s just not. There is nothing about Nikola … his wife might disagree. But if you are a true student of the game, a coach, someone that loves the game being played the right way, then you appreciate him at the level that he should be appreciated at.”
Addressing what he called “nonsensical rumors,” Octagon Basketball Europe CEO David Carro Funes, who represents Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo, said (via Twitter) that his client fully intends to remain in the NBA going forward. Campazzo, who played in Argentina from 2008-14 and Spain from 2014-20, will be a free agent at season’s end. He spoke last month about his commitment to continue playing in the NBA beyond his current contract.
Will Barton sustained a scary-looking injury on Thursday when he lost his footing on a drive and banged his head against Jusuf Nurkic‘s knee. Barton remained on the floor for several minutes, but eventually walked to the locker room under his own power and later returned to the bench. He should be OK going forward, writes Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post.