Former All-NBA Big Man DeMarcus Cousins Lashes Out at Lakers for Drafting Bronny James

Former All-NBA and All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins has issued some harsh words on his one-time team (technically), the Los Angeles Lakers, for using a draft pick on former USC Trojans point guard Bronny James, son of Cousins’ one-time Lakers teammate LeBron James.

Read more: LeBron and Son Bronny James Make History

Los Angeles selected the younger James, now 20, with the No. 55 pick in June’s 2024 NBA Draft despite the 6-foot-2 point guard struggling on both sides of the ball during his one-and-done freshman season. Across 25 healthy contests (six starts), James averaged 4.8 points on .366/.267/.676 shooting splits, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals per bout.

James has been having even more trouble at the NBA level through his first four preseason games with the Lakers. In those contests, James has averaged more turnovers (1.3) than points (1.0 on 12.5 percent field goal shooting — including 0 percent 3-point shooting on 1.8 triple tries). He is also logging 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 11.2 minutes.

Cousins, a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Second Teamer while with the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, entered a different point of his career after rupturing his left Achilles tendon on Jan. 26, 2018.

He tore a left quadriceps during his lone season with the Golden State Warriors, 2018-19, and by the time he signed with the Lakers the subsequent summer, the team was hoping he would serve as a high-upside role player.

The 6-foot-10 Kentucky product inked a one-year deal with the Lakers ahead of the club’s eventual 2019-20 championship season but tore his left ACL during an August pick-up contest.

He was waived by Los Angeles midway through the year, though the Lakers would ultimately award Cousins a championship ring. He was shuffled through a variety of other teams during the next two seasons, and most recently suited up for the Taiwan Mustangs over the summer.

During an appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” with Michelle Beadle, Cousins spoke out about how he felt Los Angeles failed to properly make moves to enhance its roster during the summer offseason, following a 47-35 finish and a first-round exit at the hands of another former Cousins club, the Denver Nuggets.

“I don’t really think the Lakers are serious anymore,” Cousins said. “I love everything that [LeBron] stands for. I think what ‘Bron is doing with his legacy and just as a businessman and everything that comes with it, I think it’s a beautiful thing, I think it’s really really dope. As far as the Lakers actually competing, I don’t know. I take that as a sign that they aren’t really serious.”

Cousins did, however, go on to applaud the Lakers’ first-round selection in the draft, former Tennessee Volunteers All-American shooting guard Dalton Knecht. The 6-foot-6 swingman, 23, is averaging 13.8 points on .396/.270/.750 shooting splits, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks through his first four preseason contests with Los Angeles.

“The way that their season ended last year with the high expectations, I expected more from them as far as making moves [this summer],” Cousins continued. “I do like the kid from Tennessee that they drafted. I think he could be an instant impact player for them. But they had a lot of concerns last year that I don’t think really were addressed and I didn’t really see those moves being made in the offseason as well. So it’s TBD in my opinion.”

More news: How Many Points Did Bronny James Score vs Bucks?

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