Cousins was seriously injured for the first time in 2065438+2008127 October, which happened to be his contract year. Before the injury, Cousins averaged 25.2 points/KOOC-0/2.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists/KOOC-0/.7 steals/KOOC-0/.6 blocks, which was extremely comprehensive and deserved to be the first center in the league. Cousins suffered a severe tear in his left achilles tendon at the peak of his career and faced a critical moment of need after the season.
This serious injury can be said to have completely changed Cousins' career. At the end of the season, the Pelican team is only willing to provide Cousins with a two-year contract renewal of 40 million US dollars, and this price, under the current salary cap, even some ordinary role players can get the contract. The arrogant Cousins couldn't stand it, and his choice was very surprising. 1 $5.3 million middle class made an exception and joined the Warriors.
At that time, the Warriors were composed of Curry, Thompson, Durant and Green, and they have won the championship for two consecutive years. Cousins' joining made the outside world shout that the warriors gathered in the top five, and the NBA lost its suspense before the start of the new season. Cousins did have his own plans when he joined the Warriors. Because of injury, he needs to rest for nearly 1 year, and only the Warriors can let him rest for so long. In addition, in the case of not getting a high salary, it is also a psychological comfort to mix a championship ring with the Warriors 4 giants first.
But as the saying goes, things change. After Cousins joined the Warriors, the Warriors were very careful about his use, but he only played for three months. Cousins suffered another quadriceps injury in the first round of the World War II playoffs against the Clippers, and he didn't come back until the first game of the finals. The finals averaged only 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Because Durant and Thompson fell one after another, the Warriors finally lost to the Raptors and lost the championship.
Cousins' unconvincing performance in the Warriors naturally affected his value in the free market again. Joining the Lakers in the offseason, the salary has been reduced to 1 year, 3.5 million. However, what makes people feel helpless is that Cousins suffered a serious tear in the anterior cruciate ligament of his knee just over 1 month after joining the Lakers, which also led to his truce this season and never played for the Lakers again.
The Lakers chose to cut Cousins, but considering that the Lakers didn't have many insiders but the defense line was crowded, Cousins was still cut, which may also indicate that this serious injury had a great impact on him, from finding a top salary to finding a championship, and now he wants to stay in the team. Cousins' career situation has also declined repeatedly because of three serious injuries. This tragedy once again shows how cruel injuries are to professional athletes.