While the Los Angeles Lakers have been playing better lately, they still could use some reinforcements if they want to get back into championship contention.
Those reinforcements may come via trade ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline, although the Lakers are not waiting that long to see if they can bring it players that can help.
Considering the team has an open roster spot after waiving Matt Ryan a couple of months ago, they are bringing in free agents on 10-day contracts with Sterling Brown being the first.
Brown has only played sparing minutes since joining the Lakers and his 10-day contract will be up on Saturday. With that being the case, the Lakers are doing their due diligence on other free agents to see who is worthy of the next 10-day contract.
One possibility is a familiar face in DeMarcus Cousins. It was recently reported that the Lakers would be bringing the center in for a workout, and it appears that will be taking place on Friday, via Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report:
The Los Angeles Lakers will work out four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins on Friday, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 12, 2023
Cousins has not played this season but appeared in 48 games for the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets last season, averaging 9.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 15 minutes per game.
As Anthony Davis continues to work his way back from a foot injury, the Lakers have been short on size in recent weeks which is why taking a look at Cousins makes some sense. Thomas Bryant has filled in admirably for Davis, but Damian Jones has essentially been glued to the bench all season.
It remains to be seen if the Lakers will give Brown a second 10-day contract, but if they don’t then it’s possible that a reunion with Cousins, who was on the roster in 2019-20 but never played due to a torn ACL, is on the horizon.
Lakers also recently worked out Zeller
It appears the Lakers have identified center as a position of need as they also reportedly worked out Cody Zeller during the recent road trip in Charlotte.
Zeller has a different skillset than Cousins but would still provide the Lakers with some much-needed size on the interior.
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