When you are coming off a major injury and joining a team that has four All-Stars and has won three of the past four NBA championships, there really shouldn’t be any rush to your return. And that’s exactly the scenario for new Warrior DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins was playing for the Pelicans when he tore an Achilles tendon in January. The blockbuster announcement he was joining the star-studded Warriors came Monday; the official signing of his one-year contract was Friday.
"I was aiming for training camp, but I've communicated with the staff and the coaches, and it's kind of up in the air," Cousins said at a news conference Friday in Las Vegas, per ESPN.com. "It will be when I'm ready, 100 percent ready, and we'll take it from there."
A four-time All-Star himself, Cousins, 27, is a joining a lineup that already features All-Stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. That firepower allows Cousins to pace his comeback, which he said was “coming along great.”
"Basically, the healing part is over, and now it's just about building strength,” Cousins said. “I'm improving each and every day. I feel stronger each and every day, and it's just a matter of time before I'm back on the floor."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was also in Las Vegas, for a Summer League game between his players and the Clippers. In a TV interview, Kerr talked about the team’s big free-agent acquisition and was in such a jovial mood as he added, “We just felt like we didn't have enough All-Stars.”
That fact is not lost on Cousins.
"The potential is scary, that's obvious," Cousins said.
