Former All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins has agreed to a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The Rockets were limited to offering the veteran’s minimum to Cousins, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his left knee suffered after he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cousins, 30, was a four-time All-Star with the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans and has career averages of 21.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
However, Cousins’ career has been interrupted by a series of serious injuries over the past three years.
Cousins ruptured an Achilles tendon in February 2018 while playing for the Pelicans in a win over the Rockets. That injury caused his value in free agency to plummet, and Cousins signed with the Golden State Warriors for $5.3 million that summer.
Cousins missed much of his season with the Warriors while in rehab for his Achilles injury and was sidelined for much of Golden State’s playoff run with a torn quadriceps. He averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 30 games with the Warriors.
After committing to full-time small ball in the middle of last season, starting 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker at center, the Rockets have agreed to deals this offseason with a pair of centers who have been prolific scorers.
Houston agreed with former Detroit Pistons center Christian Wood on a three-year, $41 million contract in the opening hours of free agency Friday, sources said. Wood, 25, averaged 13.1 points per game last season, including 21.9 points during a 12-game stint as a starter after Detroit traded Andre Drummond.
They should help play a role in aiding the Rockets’ rebounding woes. Since Jan. 31, Houston had a 44.6% rebounding percentage, which was last in the NBA over that span and would have ranked last by any team in a full season since 1996-97.
