Passing on Cousins was a costly mistake

[PKABOOICU]

As we all know, DMC signed with the Warriors, and now he's being dubbed as a soft ring chaser. I was one of them.
Truth be told, DMC reached out to the Lakers BEFORE signing with the Warriors, and Magic/Pelinka passed on him....
"Because they didnt want to wait for him to come back".

This is gonna hurt the Lakers. Yes, Cousins is coming off a potentially career ending injury, but even a 75% DMC is better than any center available. Even if he were to come back in January, he's only missing 2 months. And it was only $5 million for 1 year. The Lakers could have rehabbed him, while building an off-court relationship with Lebron.
He's still one of the greatest enforcers in the league, and pairing him up with Rondo and Lance would have been GOOD, not bad. You need that type of fire to win. He was way too talented to pass up just because he's out for an extra 2 months. It was a golden opportunity for the Lakers front office to assess his behavior and tactics off the court, and see if he would be able to fit in for the next 3 years while Lebron is still here, and the Lakers didnt seize that opportunity.

Instead, he signs with the Warriors and they dont even need him. DMC at 75% is a better player than Bogut+Zaza+McGee combined...and now every fan base is complaining and whining about him making a great team even greater....and he aint even on the court yet.

Big L for us.

[zimpy27]

He is the best big man you could sign with LeBron besides AD.

Makes no sense they didn't sign him.

[Temuhjan]

DMC > McGee + Rondo + KCP. Period.

DMC + Tyreke Evans + Avery Bradley was the best combo available.

[kimbobrand28]

who knows how his 280 lb body is going to hold his Achilles. Lopez still an option
Tyreke and Avery were both looking for KCP money.

[Spens1]

Would have taken Tyreke > KCP but that was the Lebron price i guess, i doubt we're signing KCP again to anything more than an MLE.

idk i think we need a higher quality centre than Lopez, especially now we let Cousins go to Golden State.

[LakersSoul]

Hmmm...

Maybe. Assuming DMC return in early Jan and needs to rebuild his strength which will take at least 1-2 months, where would the Lakers be? That 5.3 million will cost us 1-2 players and our much needed depth.

It will also mean no DMC until early Spring. When he return, he might only be 75% of himself and he could bolt the year after if someone gave a bigger offer... For now if we signed him, with that hit to our roster, I believe it will cost us many wins. In a fight with the tough WC teams like SAS, Minn, Utah, NO, OKC, I believe we need to be at full strength for the whole year to gel. It just doesnt make sense to lose out on the guys Magic/Pelinka likes for1 year deals to sign an injured torn Achilles for the last few months when the playoff fight might be over.

You might think differently but passing on DMC allows us the depth and time needed to gel properly while settng our roster for TD and next year.

[Axxo]

Hmmm...

Maybe. Assuming DMC return in early Jan and needs to rebuild his strength which will take at least 1-2 months, where would the Lakers be? That 5.3 million will cost us 1-2 players and our much needed depth.

It will also mean no DMC until early Spring. When he return, he might only be 75% of himself and he could bolt the year after if someone gave a bigger offer... For now if we signed him, with that hit to our roster, I believe it will cost us many wins. In a fight with the tough WC teams like SAS, Minn, Utah, NO, OKC, I believe we need to be at full strength for the whole year to gel. It just doesnt make sense to lose out on the guys Magic/Pelinka likes for1 year deals to sign an injured torn Achilles for the last few months when the playoff fight might be over.

You might think differently but passing on DMC allows us the depth and time needed to gel properly while settng our roster for TD and next year.

I thought this year was a scrub year for'LAL?

[dAdo dA dEvil]

We don't have the "luxury" that the Warriors have when it comes to signing DMC. It is ok for them even if DMC won't be the same player or even if he doesn't play at all but that is not the case when it comes to us. We need a player who can contribute right away. Even just a little. Warriors have too much talent that DMC is just a bonus if he can come back. But not us.

[LakersSoul]

Hmmm...

Maybe. Assuming DMC return in early Jan and needs to rebuild his strength which will take at least 1-2 months, where would the Lakers be? That 5.3 million will cost us 1-2 players and our much needed depth.

It will also mean no DMC until early Spring. When he return, he might only be 75% of himself and he could bolt the year after if someone gave a bigger offer... For now if we signed him, with that hit to our roster, I believe it will cost us many wins. In a fight with the tough WC teams like SAS, Minn, Utah, NO, OKC, I believe we need to be at full strength for the whole year to gel. It just doesnt make sense to lose out on the guys Magic/Pelinka likes for1 year deals to sign an injured torn Achilles for the last few months when the playoff fight might be over.

You might think differently but passing on DMC allows us the depth and time needed to gel properly while settng our roster for TD and next year.

I thought this year was a scrub year for'LAL?

We might not be the favorites this year but any time you have the best player, you have a fighters chance. We shouldn't waste this year. See which players are ready and which players need to be traded so that we transition from rebuiling to contending. Starting this year!!

[Unbiased hater]

He is best player in vacuum but his skills don't translate to team success and now he is injured so it's not a big deal. I thought that they are going to offer him big money so they can say that they get another star so i was 100 % against. On cheap deal it would be ok solution but i think that people overreacting bc Warriors took him bc only reason why they took him and not Dwight is bc they heard that Lakers want him.

[Unbiased hater]

Evans is better than KCP but every other player that is signed is best option available.

[iQon]

Dude, we just went through this with Kobe. It's not worth the risk.

[TKainZero]

Cousins is a headcase He is the best center in the nab, but he is a headcase. That alone gives pause.

Then, factor in one of the most extreme injuries?

There was enough to be wary

[peanutbutter]

No one wanted him. The Warriors took him and they will be lucky if he is remotely useful.

Kobe had an Achilles injury every team doctor associated with the Lakers gained first hand knowledge of what an Achilles injury does.

Cousins at his best will not have explosiveness or the leg strength jump for rebounds or blocked shots. He won't have the stamina to run back and forth from one end to the other. And his offense will be comorimised. And that is at his best.

At his worst he won't get on the court till after the All Star break and by then he would not fit in with the Lakers.

The Warriors took him cause he was begging for a one year contract from anyone.

Cousins will get one year to prove everyone wrong and even then no one is going to want him.

He is in worse shape than Kobe except Kobe already got 5 rings before his injury.



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[kimbobrand28]

Cousins on the warriors isnt a problem to me, he is not a rim protector and he is like the 3rd- 4th option
He doesnt fit the style GSW likes to play (aka small ball)

[dockingsched]

“Didn’t want to wait for him to comeback” is just the PC thing being said when you think some no defense playing knucklehead will never be the same but still demand a huge role and huge money next season.

Magic didn’t want him, Lebron didn’t want him, no one wanted him. GSW just had the luxury of having nothing to lose. Doubt the lakers are losing any sleep over it.

[xSABOx]

“Didn’t want to wait for him to comeback” is just the PC thing being said when you think some no defense playing knucklehead will never be the same but still demand a huge role and huge money next season.

Magic didn’t want him, Lebron didn’t want him, no one wanted him. GSW just had the luxury of having nothing to lose. Doubt the lakers are losing any sleep over it.

I agree

If LeBron told Magic to get him, we’d have him... he obviously didn’t want to deal with him

[dipstick]

Costly how exactly? Maybe if we end up in the conference finals vs the warriors and cousins is the one who beats us. But until we reach the conference finals, isnt really costly.

This year is still a rebuild year. Yes we plan to win a lot of games but if you're tricking yourself into believing that this is a championship year, then you shouldn't hold your breath.

We have a support team full of one year rentals. The goal is to show that we are competitive to attract another max player. Anything more than that for this year will be a bonus.

[danfantastk32]

The Warriors can afford to make cute little side-bets....not the Lakers.

There's a good chance Boogie may never play well again. Warriors will likely not notice. We need guys who can get out there and play right now.

[MAMBAEMD]

Costly mistake?
Let's see: 300+ lb big coming off of a torn achilles.
What does history tell us. Chauncy Billups, Elton Brand, Anderson Varejo , Kobe...

I think we made the right call.