Four-time all-star DeMarcus Cousins is continuing his career in the Puerto Rican Basketball League, he’ll be playing for the Guaynabo Mets

For reasons unknown, DeMarcus Cousins has been black-balled by the NBA and cannot find a roster spot available across all 30 teams. His career started a downward spiral in 2019-20 when he missed the entire season due to injury. Since then, he’s been on four different teams and hasn’t played since 4/10/22, just over a year. Cousins is joining the Guaynabo Mets in the Puerto Rican Basketball League. His plan is to play with them this spring in hopes of making an NBA roster next season. 

The big man played 17 games for Milwaukee last season before he was traded to the Denver Nuggets. There, he played in 31 total games and made just two starts. Injuries have limited his playing time in recent years. Cousins had been moved to more of a reserve role, something he was not very used to.

Four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins is signing with the Guaynabo Mets of the Puerto Rican Professional Basketball League, sources tell ESPN. Cousins, 32, will play this spring there to continue to try and find a pathway back to the NBA.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2023

DeMarcus Cousins continues to try and find his way back to the NBA

The four-time all-star has 13 years of pro experience in the NBA and has played for seven different franchises. However, he was not signed by anyone this season and is still trying to find his way back into the league. Cousins is joining the Guaynabo Mets in the Puerto Rican Basketball League.

This is certainly a big step back for a player that was widely regarded as one of the league’s best centers less than six years ago. He’s desperate to get back in the NBA and is doing whatever he can to get that done. At 32, Cousins still has a lot of gas left in the tank, but injuries changed the trajectory of his career.

Players to sign in Puerto Rico:

Demarcus Cousins
Norris Cole
Terrence Jones
David Stockton
Hassan Whiteside
Brandon Knight
Tyreke Evans
Earl Clark
Ed Davis
Greg Monroe
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Elfrid Payton
Eric Paschall

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 11, 2023

Cousins’ most dominant season as a pro came in 2017-18 where he averaged (25.2) points, (12.9) rebounds, (5.4) assists, (1.6) steals, and (1.6) blocks per game. His production is nowhere close to that in 2023, but he could play a solid bench role for someone in the future. Even if it’s 12-15 minutes a game to give the starters rest. At this point, Cousins can’t be desperate about what role he might play moving forward.