Report: Lakers to target DeMarcus Cousins

The Los Angeles Lakers may target DeMarcus Cousins after getting LeBron James into the fold.

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported on Saturday night that the Lakers are likely to target Cousins on a short-term max contract.

DeMarcus Cousins sounds like an increasingly likely target for the Lakers on a short-term max contract now that it appears Los Angeles will lose out on Paul George, per league sources. In January 2017, LeBron James called Cousins "the best big man in our game."

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) July 1, 2018

O’Connor noted that Paul George is expected to return to Oklahoma City, which would take away one of the Lakers’ primary targets. The other option the Lakers were pursuing was trading for Kawhi Leonard to pair with LeBron. But they would need the Spurs to be willing trade partners for that to happen.

Given all their cap space, the Lakers could sign two players for max money and may look to pair Boogie with LeBron. They would also be able to keep all their young assets in this scenario, enabling the two stars to have a nice supporting cast.

There are questions about Cousins though considering he is coming off a torn Achilles tendon. There was some speculation that he would have a limited market as a result, but the Lakers could change things.