Reinforcements are on the way for the Milwaukee Bucks amidst their ongoing seven-game winning streak.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Sunday afternoon that the defending champs would be adding big man DeMarcus Cousins to the roster. Cousins will join the Bucks on a non-guaranteed deal and aim to carve out a role for himself as the 15th man. The overall consensus from fans is that this is a great move for Milwaukee to make for a variety of reasons, but for those that need further convincing, here are three reasons why Cousins is a great fit for the Bucks.
No. 1 – The Milwaukee Bucks needed another center with Brook Lopez sidelined
The obvious reason as to why the Bucks signed Cousins is because of the uncertainty surrounding starting center Brook Lopez. After playing in the season-opener, Lopez has missed 20 consecutive games for Milwaukee as he continues battling through back soreness. Although he recently stated that he has a return date in mind, the Bucks are clearly being cautious here as Lopez has already missed 18 more games than he did all of last season. This signing could also mean that the center suffered a potential setback in his recovery and he might be out longer than expected. That is the worst-case scenario.
Whatever the case might be, Cousins will give the Bucks another able body at the center position to fill in until Lopez is back. There had been plenty of debate over the past few weeks about what the Bucks should do in Lopez’s absence, with some expressing optimism in signing a player off the free agent market, while others wanted the front office to try their hand on the trade market. Ultimately, they turned to signing Cousins, which is the player the oftentimes came up in those discussions among the fanbase about a potential answer. While this signing clouds any thought of Lopez’s return, it does give them some added insurance at the center position.
Prior to signing Cousins, the Bucks had placed Bobby Portis into the starting five to fill in at the center position. Despite being a natural power forward Portis has played 100 percent of his time at the center position this season, a career-high. Giannis Antetokounmpo has also played much more time at center this year, with a career-high 62 percent of his minutes coming there. Although this has been a lethal tandem at the position, bringing in a typical center to eat up some of those minutes is not a bad idea, and the front office obviously recognized that. Cousins will provide some assistance at the position and take some of the workload away from those two.