The Bucks intend to waive center DeMarcus Cousins ahead of the Friday deadline for contracts to become guaranteed, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Cousins, 31, signed with the Bucks in late November, but the deal was non-guaranteed. Friday is when contracts all across the NBA are guaranteed for the season.
Cousins appeared in 16 games this season, averaging 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds. As Charania noted, Cousins is sure to draw plenty of interest as a free agent. He must wait 48 hours after being cut to clear waivers.
“We wouldn’t have been able to get through this difficult stretch of the season as successfully as we did without DeMarcus,” Bucks GM Jon Horst told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. “He was so good for us and hopefully we helped him too.
“…We made a strategic decision to have an open roster spot, but there’s nothing that would prevent us from partnering with DeMarcus again down the road.”
Cousins averaged 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 16 games with the Clippers last year after spending the first part of the season with the Rockets. The four-time All-Star also played meaningful minutes in the playoffs as LA made a run to the Western Conference Finals.
Since making his last All-Star team, though, he suffered a ruptured Achilles and torn ACL and hasn’t been the same player who carries career averages of 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds.
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