What Does DeMarcus Cousins Have Left in the Tank?

The Milwaukee Bucks are adding a four-time All-Star to the frontcourt, though there are three-plus seasons and multiple major injuries between now and then.

On Sunday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news.

"Bucks kept an open roster spot, needed size and will bring [DeMarcus Cousins] into a strong culture on a non-guaranteed deal," Wojnarowski tweeted. "Cousins played well for [Los Angeles] Clippers in significant stretches a season ago, and stayed in shape awaiting an opportunity. Now Cousins gets a deal on the defending champs."

Cousins did indeed have his moments for the Clippers. In 23 regular and postseason appearances, he had a 1.2 box plus/minus that ranked fourth on the team, and he averaged 25.0 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.7 threes and 1.3 blocks per 75 possessions.

After Kawhi Leonard's playoff-ending torn ACL, though, it quickly became clear that L.A.'s best path to competitiveness was playing small. That bumped Cousins from rotational relevance. And an inability to showcase himself on the game's biggest stage may have contributed to his going unsigned this offseason.

Fast forward to now, and the reigning champion Bucks have gotten just one game from starting center Brook Lopez, thanks to a back injury. And though Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis have filled in ably, it's not hard to see why they're after a little depth inside.

If Lopez remains out for a bit, Cousins could get a shot at meaningful minutes.

If the 31-year-old wants to stay in the rotation when Lopez returns, though, he'll need to complete something of a two-fold mission: show that he can still produce at an NBA level and fit in on a team with plenty of scoring.

Regarding the first mission, as good as Cousins was in 2020-21, he probably still needs to show more.

The sample size there (fewer than 300 minutes) wasn't robust. And his distinctly negative net rating swing in L.A. fit a trend. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Cousins' teams are plus-0.9 points per 100 possessions when he plays and plus-1.9 when he doesn't.

The reasons for that are varied. There's always some noise in plus-minus marks. And it can be especially difficult for a reserve, which Cousins was last season, who doesn't spend a ton of time with starters to move that needle. Plodding, traditional bigs are harder to play in today's game too. Post-ups are where many possessions go to die, and Cousins, who's now suffered a ruptured Achilles and a torn ACL, isn't nimble when switched onto the perimeter.

Having said all that, accepting the second mission could help Cousins complete the first.

Over the last few seasons, Carmelo Anthony has transitioned from star to reserve and adjusted his game accordingly. There were certainly some speed bumps with the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, but Melo's commitment to playing the 4, at least trying on defense and jacking up his three-point-attempt rate (57.7 percent of all his shots this season have been threes) has made him a plus for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cousins can experience a similar resurgence with the Bucks if he focuses on skills that answer three questions in the affirmative: Does he still do this well? Does this help in today's game? Do the Bucks need him to do this?

In his upcoming situation, those skills are probably hitting threes, moving the ball and taking up space on defense.

Milwaukee has long stressed spacing from the 5. Since Lopez joined the Bucks, over half his shots have come from three. And the volume is at least as important as the efficiency. Lopez' 34.4 three-point percentage in Milwaukee won't blow anyone away, but defenders know they have to be closer to the three-point line when he's on the floor. Cousins, who's hit 34.7 percent of his threes since the start of the 2016-17 season is capable of motivating a similar adjustment, especially if he ups his own volume.

As for moving the ball, that's a skill that can help almost anywhere. And Cousins has long been underrated in that regard.

For his career, Cousins has averaged 3.8 assists per 75 possessions, a mark that dwarf's Lopez's 1.8. He's obviously not Nikola Jokic or Bam Adebayo, but Cousins knows how to find the open man out of drives and post-ups. And inverting the floor by giving centers a little playmaking responsibility can open things up for guards and wings.

Finally, there's just taking up space on defense. And that can be valuable, whether Lopez is healthy or not. And it could be especially important in the playoffs, when Milwaukee could find itself in a playoff series against Joel Embiid or Nikola Vucevic.

Other Eastern Conference contenders like the Brooklyn Nets or Miami Heat can easily shift to lineups that Cousins almost certainly wouldn't be able to keep up with, but Cousins can at least help to wear down older-school bigs like Embiid and Vucevic. As big as they are, it's still no picnic to have near-300-pound men leaning on you for an entire game. And with Lopez and Cousins both on the roster, the Bucks would have the option to go that way for 48 minutes (or close to it).

He had that sort of break-in-case-of-emergency impact in the 2019 Finals against the Toronto Raptors, who had another lumbering center in Marc Gasol.

Over the last five games of that series, Cousins averaged 9.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 blocks in just 20.0 minutes.

Cousins hadn't played much that postseason. In fact, he had 14 straight DNP-CDs in the first, second and third rounds. But he was ready to compete and defer to the stars when called upon.

If he shows a willingness and ability to do that again with the Bucks, he could turn this non-guaranteed deal into a one-year home and some momentum-seizing moments in the playoffs.