The Golden State Warriors have announced that DeMarcus Cousins has been making strides in his rehabilitation and he is expected to be inserted in the team's practice in the coming months.
Through its Twitter account, the Warriors disclosed that Cousins is showing "good progress" in recuperating well that team doctors are evaluating his ability to rejoin their regular practices before suiting up for the defending champions.
"DeMarcus continues to make good progress with his rehabilitation program," the update stated. "After spending the last few weeks doing various individual on-court activities and drills, he will, in the near future, be integrated into controlled aspects of team practices, although not scrimmages at this point."
At the sidelines before the Warriors game against the Phoenix Suns, Golden State coach Steve Kerr shed some light into Cousins' progress on rehabilitation, saying he has been working on getting better by himself and the medical team
"He's been doing a lot of individual work most of the season," Kerr shared. "He's done work in the weight room and the training room and on the floor before practice."
The coach declined to give a specific timeline on Cousins' return.
Cousins suffered from a ruptured Achilles' tendon on his left knee in January with his former team, the New Orleans Pelicans. The 6-foot-10 bruiser immediately had surgery to repair the tear and spent the succeeding months in rehabilitation.
The center/forward has been posting career numbers for the Pelicans, who made it to the playoffs but got eliminated in the first round.
After losing center JaVale McGee to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, Golden State Warriors quickly scoured the market for a replacement slot man who could man the middle and be a scoring option for the shooting-loaded team.
The Pelicans, on the other hand, did not sign the injured Cousins, and instead agreed to a deal with the healthy Julius Randle to beef up their frontline together with Anthony Davis.
The Warriors picked Cousins up, and pundits say the reigning champions took a gamble when they signed the all-star center to a one-year, US$5.3 million deal.
For Cousins, the deal gives him enough time to rehabilitate his torn Achilles, which usually takes about six months to a year, and to join a superstar-laden ball club that seems to be poised to chase their third straight NBA title.
Should he successfully suit up for the Warriors, the burly center/forward boosts the stock of Golden State's so-called "death" lineup. He also increases his value as a player as he becomes a free agent once more at Summer 2019.
