The Los Angeles Lakers officially added forward Markieff Morris on Sunday and waived injured center DeMarcus Cousins, as expected.
The move comes two days after Morris agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons.
It was the second bit of welcome news for the Lakers on Sunday after they also defeated the Boston Celtics at home 114-112 for their fifth consecutive victory.
Cousins is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee sustained in August 2019 and has not played since the 2018-19 season.
The Lakers received a disabled player exemption for Cousins at $1.75 million, according to ESPN, and Morris will sign for that amount, according to multiple reports.
Cousins signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Lakers in July 2019 after playing 30 regular-season games and eight postseason games for the Golden State Warriors in 2018-19. He also sustained a torn Achilles tendon in January 2018.
In nine NBA seasons, Cousins has averaged 21.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 blocks over 565 games (543 starts). According to NBA rules, Cousins can continue to rehab his knee at the Lakers’ facilities, the New York Times reported.
In 44 games (16 starts) with the Pistons this season, Morris averaged 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.5 minutes. He also connected on 39.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Morris’ twin brother Marcus now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers after a trade earlier this month.
“That’s my brother man,” Marcus Morris said, via ESPN. “Man, if he goes to L.A., then I’m gonna be in Staples Center all the time. I think maybe to y’all it might be weird that I’m going to all his games, but that’s what’ll probably happen. And we’ll probably get a house together.”
