The Los Angeles Lakers put more pieces of their revamped roster together on Saturday, agreeing to a one-year deal with free-agent center DeMarcus Cousins and bringing back point guard Rajon Rondo.
ESPN said Cousins' deal is for $2.3 million, citing Cousins' agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the agreement and said that while Cousins, who turns 29 next month, had drawn interest from the Miami Heat, and that former teammate Anthony Davis and several other Lakers convinced him to join them in Los Angeles.
If Cousins can stay injury free, he could join with Davis and LeBron James to give the Lakers the big three they have been seeking. The Lakers had hoped the third would be Kawhi Leonard, but he chose to play with the Los Angeles Clippers instead.
Cousins, a four-time All-Star with the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, signed a $5.3 million, one-year deal with Golden State before the 2017-18 season and joined the Warriors in January after his rehab from a torn Achilles. He played in 30 games in the regular season, averaging 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 25.7 minutes per game.
He was limited to just eight games in the Warriors' run to the NBA Finals because of a torn quad.
Rondo is returning to the Lakers on a two-year deal, Wojnarowski reported.
He was credited for providing veteran leadership as a tumultuous season wore on with the Lakers last season, but injuries limited him to 46 games (29 starts). The 33-year-old, who is entering his 14th NBA season, averaged 9.2 points, 8.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds last season.
The Lakers also moved early Saturday to re-sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee, ESPN reported. And they also reached a two-year, $6 million deal with free-agent guard Quinn Cook, according to Yahoo (NASDAQ:AABA) Sports.
Caldwell-Pope, 26, played the past two seasons with the Lakers after four years in Detroit and averaged 11.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 24.8 minutes while appearing in all 82 games last season.
His deal is said to be for two years and $16 million.
McGee, 31, is coming off his first year in Los Angeles and gives the Lakers a veteran presence to work alongside Davis. McGee averaged a career-best 12.0 points to go with 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in just 22.3 minutes per game last season. He started 62 of the 75 games he played in.
His deal is reportedly worth $8.2 million over two years and has a player option.
Cook, 26, spent the past two seasons with the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 14.3 minutes per game last season.
The Lakers also reached an agreement late Friday with free agent swingman Danny Green on a two-year deal. Wojnarowski said Green, who spent the past season with Leonard and the Raptors, will make $30 million.
--Field Level Media