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The Los Angeles Clippers plan to sign DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract.

Cousins will have to clear the NBA's health and safety protocols before signing the deal.

The Houston Rockets waived Cousins in late February.

Via Shams Charania/The Athletic

Hmmmm. I didn’t see this happening. With the additions of Rondo and now Cousins, can the Clips hang with the Lakers?

TheCage4 wrote:Hmmmm. I didn’t see this happening. With the additions of Rondo and now Cousins, can the Clips hang with the Lakers?

Cousins won't play. Only with ibaka out he gets the backup minutes. But then you have to factor in they may just play Patrick Patterson over him. If there serious they'll try to get all they can out of him. I'd pray he's somewhat half the player he was in the pelicans

I don’t know why he keeps going to contenders to try to rebuild his career, as soon as Houston started losing he wanted out. He should have tried to sign with a struggling team looking for help instead he’s going to sit on the bench then nobody will give him a chance after the clips cuts him.

RipCityKJ wrote:I don’t know why he keeps going to contenders to try to rebuild his career, as soon as Houston started losing he wanted out. He should have tried to sign with a struggling team looking for help instead he’s going to sit on the bench then nobody will give him a chance after the clips cuts him.

Yeah, I agree. I get the feeling he's given up on being what he was and is looking for a Grant Hill or Antonio McDyess style second act, but with all his bouncing around it's more like old Penny.

All the losing in Sacramento may have taken a mental toll too -- it's clear he is prioritizing going to winning situations above all else at this point, which has to drive his agents mad when they need him to show out to secure a contract next year.

Even when healthy no one wants this guy. Which is why I find it funny that people thought so many teams were going to offer him the max before he got hurt. Now he's trying to prove to teams that he only cares about winning but he should be going to terrible teams and putting up stats. He needs to fire his agent ASAP.

Pretty sure this man just doesn't want to be back in a Kings situation again. Especially if he gets his health right, he'd be stuck playing good basketball on a bad team again. Man doesn't even want to CHANCE his body finally letting him play high level basketball again but ends up playing for a bottom team. But I think the question is, can he even play at a high level anymore? We've seen some flashes when he was playing in Houston, but not enough to convince any team that he'd be an asset.

TheCage4 wrote:Hmmmm. I didn’t see this happening. With the additions of Rondo and now Cousins, can the Clips hang with the Lakers?

Well Williams is better than Rondo, and they lost him in that trade, and Cousins is their 3rd best Center so he’s barely going to play.

So I don’t think these moves helped them at all and they might have made them slightly worse.

Next maybe it’s the e-sports team for boogie

The_Hater wrote:

TheCage4 wrote:Hmmmm. I didn’t see this happening. With the additions of Rondo and now Cousins, can the Clips hang with the Lakers?

Well Williams is better than Rondo, and they lost him in that trade, and Cousins is their 3rd best Center so he’s barely going to play.

So I don’t think these moves helped them at all and they might have made them slightly worse.

Williams is a better scorer and that's it. He's an undersized shooting guard and Rondo is a natural point guard. The Clippers are now better prepared for the playoffs.

Theo Ratliff wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

TheCage4 wrote:Hmmmm. I didn’t see this happening. With the additions of Rondo and now Cousins, can the Clips hang with the Lakers?

Well Williams is better than Rondo, and they lost him in that trade, and Cousins is their 3rd best Center so he’s barely going to play.

So I don’t think these moves helped them at all and they might have made them slightly worse.

Williams is a better scorer and that's it. He's an undersized shooting guard and Rondo is a natural point guard. The Clippers are now better prepared for the playoffs.

You might want to look up exactly how awful Rondo has been this season. He’s in no way, shape or form a better player than Williams. And that’s including all of Lou’s flaws.

Now obviously the Clips are banking on ‘playoff Rondo’ showing up. But that would require him both to stay healthy a s play about 4 levels higher than we’ve seen this season.

RipCityKJ wrote:I don’t know why he keeps going to contenders to try to rebuild his career, as soon as Houston started losing he wanted out. He should have tried to sign with a struggling team looking for help instead he’s going to sit on the bench then nobody will give him a chance after the clips cuts him.

Why would a struggling team want him? They trying to develop the young players...only teams that were interested were the Clips and the Celtics.

The_Hater wrote:

Theo Ratliff wrote:

The_Hater wrote:
Well Williams is better than Rondo, and they lost him in that trade, and Cousins is their 3rd best Center so he’s barely going to play.

So I don’t think these moves helped them at all and they might have made them slightly worse.

Williams is a better scorer and that's it. He's an undersized shooting guard and Rondo is a natural point guard. The Clippers are now better prepared for the playoffs.

You might want to look up exactly how awful Rondo has been this season. He’s in no way, shape or form a better player than Williams. And that’s including all of Lou’s flaws.

Now obviously the Clips are banking on ‘playoff Rondo’ showing up. But that would require him both to stay healthy a s play about 4 levels higher than we’ve seen this season.

The Clippers made it clear throughout the offseason they were looking for a "playmaker". The Clippers wanted Rondo but couldn't pay him what he wanted under the cap. This makes me believe the Hawks did the Clippers a favor and signed him (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick here?), with the intention of making this trade later.

The years/money never made sense for the Hawks, especially when they also signed Kris Dunn. This also would explain a few comments Rondo made about not caring about playing and working w/ guys in the film room (why would the Hawks give this money to someone who wouldn't play?). All of this makes me believe the trade was agreed to in advance (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick?).

The Clippers aren't banking on "Playoff Rondo" so much as understanding that "Playoff Lou" doesn't exist. He's someone you can't play in high-stakes games specifically because of his limitations. That was their biggest lesson from last season.

Rashidi wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

Theo Ratliff wrote:Williams is a better scorer and that's it. He's an undersized shooting guard and Rondo is a natural point guard. The Clippers are now better prepared for the playoffs.

You might want to look up exactly how awful Rondo has been this season. He’s in no way, shape or form a better player than Williams. And that’s including all of Lou’s flaws.

Now obviously the Clips are banking on ‘playoff Rondo’ showing up. But that would require him both to stay healthy a s play about 4 levels higher than we’ve seen this season.

The Clippers made it clear throughout the offseason they were looking for a "playmaker". The Clippers wanted Rondo but couldn't pay him what he wanted under the cap. This makes me believe the Hawks did the Clippers a favor and signed him (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick here?), with the intention of making this trade later.

The years/money never made sense for the Hawks, especially when they also signed Kris Dunn. This also would explain a few comments Rondo made about not caring about playing and working w/ guys in the film room (why would the Hawks give this money to someone who wouldn't play?). All of this makes me believe the trade was agreed to in advance (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick?).

The Clippers aren't banking on "Playoff Rondo" so much as understanding that "Playoff Lou" doesn't exist. He's someone you can't play in high-stakes games specifically because of his limitations. That was their biggest lesson from last season.

I'm not sure about the whole agreement in advance with the Clippers, but I could see the Hawks signing him because they knew some contender may want him later on and figured they could probably get a pick out of him. In the meantime, hoping Trae Young would be a sponge and learn a few things from Rondo while he was there.

Rashidi wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

Theo Ratliff wrote:Williams is a better scorer and that's it. He's an undersized shooting guard and Rondo is a natural point guard. The Clippers are now better prepared for the playoffs.

You might want to look up exactly how awful Rondo has been this season. He’s in no way, shape or form a better player than Williams. And that’s including all of Lou’s flaws.

Now obviously the Clips are banking on ‘playoff Rondo’ showing up. But that would require him both to stay healthy a s play about 4 levels higher than we’ve seen this season.

The Clippers made it clear throughout the offseason they were looking for a "playmaker". The Clippers wanted Rondo but couldn't pay him what he wanted under the cap. This makes me believe the Hawks did the Clippers a favor and signed him (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick here?), with the intention of making this trade later.

The years/money never made sense for the Hawks, especially when they also signed Kris Dunn. This also would explain a few comments Rondo made about not caring about playing and working w/ guys in the film room (why would the Hawks give this money to someone who wouldn't play?). All of this makes me believe the trade was agreed to in advance (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick?).

The Clippers aren't banking on "Playoff Rondo" so much as understanding that "Playoff Lou" doesn't exist. He's someone you can't play in high-stakes games specifically because of his limitations. That was their biggest lesson from last season.

Well if he’s done as a rotation level NBA player, he’s not helping anyone this playoff season. And at age 35 and with how he looked this season, there’s a very good chance that’s the case. And they have to pay him at age 36 as well. Atlanta obviously thinks they got the better end of this deal and I would agree with that.

The_Hater wrote:

Rashidi wrote:

The_Hater wrote:
You might want to look up exactly how awful Rondo has been this season. He’s in no way, shape or form a better player than Williams. And that’s including all of Lou’s flaws.

Now obviously the Clips are banking on ‘playoff Rondo’ showing up. But that would require him both to stay healthy a s play about 4 levels higher than we’ve seen this season.

The Clippers made it clear throughout the offseason they were looking for a "playmaker". The Clippers wanted Rondo but couldn't pay him what he wanted under the cap. This makes me believe the Hawks did the Clippers a favor and signed him (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick here?), with the intention of making this trade later.

The years/money never made sense for the Hawks, especially when they also signed Kris Dunn. This also would explain a few comments Rondo made about not caring about playing and working w/ guys in the film room (why would the Hawks give this money to someone who wouldn't play?). All of this makes me believe the trade was agreed to in advance (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick?).

The Clippers aren't banking on "Playoff Rondo" so much as understanding that "Playoff Lou" doesn't exist. He's someone you can't play in high-stakes games specifically because of his limitations. That was their biggest lesson from last season.

Well if he’s done as a rotation level NBA player, he’s not helping anyone this playoff season. And at age 35 and with how he looked this season, there’s a very good chance that’s the case. And they have to pay him at age 36 as well. Atlanta obviously thinks they got the better end of this deal and I would agree with that.

Guys, they didn't get Rondo to get Rondo. They were getting rid of Lou. He was 3rd on LAC in shots and 13th in TS%. He was eating up shots on one end and and not defending on the other. They are better off with Lou gone. Rondo doesn't need to suit up to make that true.

dubbmotta wrote:

RipCityKJ wrote:I don’t know why he keeps going to contenders to try to rebuild his career, as soon as Houston started losing he wanted out. He should have tried to sign with a struggling team looking for help instead he’s going to sit on the bench then nobody will give him a chance after the clips cuts him.

Why would a struggling team want him? They trying to develop the young players...only teams that were interested were the Clips and the Celtics.

Then he should have gone to BOS. He might have been their best center. It's only a 10 day so we'll see how it goes, but I can't imagine he gets much run in LAC.

Pickled Prunes wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

Rashidi wrote:

The Clippers made it clear throughout the offseason they were looking for a "playmaker". The Clippers wanted Rondo but couldn't pay him what he wanted under the cap. This makes me believe the Hawks did the Clippers a favor and signed him (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick here?), with the intention of making this trade later.

The years/money never made sense for the Hawks, especially when they also signed Kris Dunn. This also would explain a few comments Rondo made about not caring about playing and working w/ guys in the film room (why would the Hawks give this money to someone who wouldn't play?). All of this makes me believe the trade was agreed to in advance (because why else would the Clippers be giving up a pick?).

The Clippers aren't banking on "Playoff Rondo" so much as understanding that "Playoff Lou" doesn't exist. He's someone you can't play in high-stakes games specifically because of his limitations. That was their biggest lesson from last season.

Well if he’s done as a rotation level NBA player, he’s not helping anyone this playoff season. And at age 35 and with how he looked this season, there’s a very good chance that’s the case. And they have to pay him at age 36 as well. Atlanta obviously thinks they got the better end of this deal and I would agree with that.

Guys, they didn't get Rondo to get Rondo. They were getting rid of Lou. He was 3rd on LAC in shots and 13th in TS%. He was eating up shots on one end and and not defending on the other. They are better off with Lou gone. Rondo doesn't need to suit up to make that true.

Since Rondo has an extra year left on his contract, this isn’t exactly true. If you’re trying to dump a player you don’t take salary for the following year in the form of a negative player.

The_Hater wrote:Well if he’s done as a rotation level NBA player, he’s not helping anyone this playoff season. And at age 35 and with how he looked this season, there’s a very good chance that’s the case. And they have to pay him at age 36 as well. Atlanta obviously thinks they got the better end of this deal and I would agree with that.

The two teams have different goals.

The Hawks are still building. They get a draft pick. The difference in quality between Rondo/Lou in a tiny role (Trae's backup) is negligible. It will have zero impact on the standings (23-24, 7th) and finish of this team (1st round exit barring major upset).

The Clippers are championship or bust. Anything short of a title is a failure for them. Regardless of what you think of Rondo, THEY consider him a player that fits better and improves those odds. Last season's playoffs are not exactly an aberration for either player.

The_Hater wrote:

Pickled Prunes wrote:

The_Hater wrote:
Well if he’s done as a rotation level NBA player, he’s not helping anyone this playoff season. And at age 35 and with how he looked this season, there’s a very good chance that’s the case. And they have to pay him at age 36 as well. Atlanta obviously thinks they got the better end of this deal and I would agree with that.

Guys, they didn't get Rondo to get Rondo. They were getting rid of Lou. He was 3rd on LAC in shots and 13th in TS%. He was eating up shots on one end and and not defending on the other. They are better off with Lou gone. Rondo doesn't need to suit up to make that true.

Since Rondo has an extra year left on his contract, this isn’t exactly true. If you’re trying to dump a player you don’t take salary for the following year in the form of a negative player.

Rondo's 7.5M due next season is inconsequential to Balmer. And it will be a tradable expiring contract next season, although they will likely need to send a 2nd with it. But I didn't mean to suggest that LAC didn't hope to get something out of Rondo, just that LAC will get better just by removing Lou. Anything Rondo contributes is a bonus.

Don't get me wrong, I like Lou. But he didn't fit in LAC anymore. He should look a whole lot better in ATL.