The Houston Rockets launch the DeMarcus Cousins center on Tuesday, after a mutual decision was made between the team and the big man to break up, ESPN sources confirmed.
Veri, whose veteran minimum wage of $ 2.3 million was guaranteed by the Rockets last week as a token of gratitude, will explore the interest of the other teams.
Cousins, 30, a four-time All-Star trying to resurrect his career after a series of serious injuries, averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting just 37.6% upstairs in 25 Rockets games.
Sources said that Verișorii were not satisfied with his role as a backup center behind Christian Wood, wanting more playing time. Rockets coach Stephen Silas did not consider playing Wood and Cousins together because he only wants to use Wood as a center.
The Rockets lost their last eight games after Wood, Houston’s leading scorer and rebounder, fell with a sprained right ankle. The cousins, whose defense problems were a problem, recorded an average of 12.1 points and 9.0 rebounds during the stretch, before losing the loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday due to a heel injury.
Cousins has returned to the league in recent seasons after breaking his Achilles tendon in the 2017-18 season while on the New Orleans Pelicans. He then signed with the Golden State Warriors, but broke his quadriceps muscle in the 2018-19 season. The cousins joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2019-20 campaign, but broke their ACL before joining the team.
He has earned an average of 20.8 points and 10.7 rebounds for his career since he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with selection no. 5 of the 2010 draft.
Athletic first reported news of Cousins’ imminent release.