The Los Angeles Lakers are currently 24-13 on the year and sit third in the Western Conference. That said, their record is a bit deceiving.
The team is 3-7 over the last 10 games and losing Anthony Davis proved to be deeply damaging.
For a second it looked like Kyle Kuzma’s demotion was what LA needed to bounce back strong – but that fizzled out quick.
Clearly the Lakers need to replace Davis’ production in the front court somehow.
Fortunately, it appears as though two viable options exist in DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond.
According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Lakers are looking at both.
“League sources say they have interest in free agent DeMarcus Cousins, but Drummond is their preference if he gets bought out,” he wrote. “Drummond has been benched while the Cavaliers seek a trade, but there’s doubt around the league that they’ll be able to find one due to his massive $28.8 million salary.”
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports also confirmed that LA’s interest in Drummond is very real.
Haynes described the interest level on LA’s part as “serious.”
Drummond is averaging 17.5 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the field, 13.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. He’d be an immediate upgrade over Marc Gasol, who has been an abject disappointment thus far.
If Drummond proves to be unattainable, Cousins is a good fall-back plan.
During a recent appearance on Betting Around The Rim, noted NBA insider Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson made the case for the Lakers being able to add him.
“He has a relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers being on that roster, did not play much,” Robinson said.
“He still maintains a relationship with Anthony Davis who he was a teammate with during their days with the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s still very close with Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy.”
The real star of All-Star weekend. https://t.co/jAMuWDI2Vl
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 9, 2021
Cousins averaged 9.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the Houston Rockets this season prior to getting waived.
One way or another, the Lakers need to make a move. Even before Montrezl Harrell’s ominous cry from help, the team was in a precarious place as far as bigs went.
Will LA be able to land one of their two targets and turn the season around? Time will tell.
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