A day after LeBron James agreed to join the Lakers, the two-time defending champion Warriors upped the ante in a massive way, reaching a stunning agreement with All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins.
Yahoo! Sports' Shams Charania was the first to report the deal.
Free agent DeMarcus Cousins has agreed to a deal with the Golden State Warriors, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2018
The deal is a one-year, $5.3 million dollars according ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Cousins who tore his Achilles in January, isn't expected to return to on-court activities until December or January.
So GM Bob Myers has replaced JaVale McGee with ... Boogie Cousins. The $5.3M represents the taxpayer mid-level exception. Cousins is hopeful to return to the court by December/January off his torn Achilles. There will be no rush with Warriors. https://t.co/lYwGjxZchk
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2018
The Warriors used its taxpayer midlevel exception to sign Cousins according to Wojnarowski. The short term deal allows Cousins to get healthy, show he's back to his all-star form and trying and sign a longer term deal next off-season.
All signings will not be official until the end of the NBA moratorium period on July 6.