That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Welcome back Amaury after two months off from surgery; Amaury talks about A’s win streak

twitter.com file photo: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez (left) with broadcast partner Manolo Hernandez Douen (right) prepare to call another Oakland Athletics game in Spanish at the Oakland Coliseum.

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury you were out for some two months after one of the longest layoffs in your broadcast career. What was that like being away from the mic?

#2 The A’s are currently on one of the longest streaks they’ve had in recent memory. It’s early, but folks have been talking about that 2002 season when they won 20 straight games

#3 In order to put together a win steak like that, you have to have a lot of things working for you and they’ve been getting timely hitting and long ball help from Mark Canha in place of injured Khris Davis.

#4 The Oakland A’s story has almost overshadowed the Golden State Warriors and their NBA Finals appearance starting in Toronto on Thursday night

#5 Amaury, you covered the Stanley Cup Final three years ago when the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins teed it up, This year, San Jose missed the finals by this much and now it’s going to be the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins. What was it like to be there at a very electric Stanley Cup Final when you got to cover it three years ago?

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball on KIQI 1010 San Francisco, the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Will Irving reunite with LeBron in L.A.?; Leonard’s 4-bouncer rim shot gets Raptors in the semi Finals; plus more

Photo credit: @AFordTaurus

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What about all the talk from ESPN radio that they can see a LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reunion at the Los Angeles Lakers especially if Jason Kidd had come on board as head coach but Frank Vogel got the job as Lakers head coach? Stephen A Smith says that not going to happen that his sources tell him that Irving is going to the Knicks and Brooklyn is trying to weigh in on Irving, but Irving is focused on going to the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

#2 The Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard sunk a four-bouncer on the rim and got the Raptors into the next round defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90 on a buzzer beater. Leonard had himself a game finishing with 41 points in a Game 7 elimination contest to advance to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

#3 The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard will be all the rage as the Blazers are coming off a narrow 4-3 win past the Denver Nuggets. It took seven games for the Blazers to advance. Do the Blazers have enough to go deep with Golden State? In game one the Warriors rolled past Portland 116-94.

#4 In hockey, the San Jose Sharks and St Louis Blues played Game 2 Monday night in the best of seven in this third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Final. The Sharks have been getting help from all around, but the Sharks’ Timo Meier has been on fire with two goals scored in Game 1. The Sharks had home ice in game for the first two games.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened up a two-game series in Seattle on Monday night the A’s got five homers but couldn’t win it in the end. The A’s and M’s are battling for that third place spot in the American League West and are two games out of second place but eight games behind Houston. The A’s and M’s have almost identical records in a short series that could prove to test the A’s on the road and the M’s against an A’s team who’s capable to break out the bats and get good pitching.

Barbara does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary every Tuesday night and is a freelance writer for Area Grande Spanish papers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Hold off from pressing the panic button on the Warriors

bleacherreport.com photo: The Los Angeles Clippers routed Golden State Warriors, erasing a 31-point deficit in Game 2 at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Monday night. The series moves to Staples Center in Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday night. 

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors were riding high, leading the Los Angeles Clippers 73-50 at halftime.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry led all scorers with 22 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, 4-of-7 from three, and 6-for-6 from the foul line. But in the second half, Curry scored just seven points.

Then the roof caved in.

Golden State couldn’t hold on to its 31-point lead that they built up in the third quarter after starting the frame scoring 21 points on 9-for-9 shooting off eight assists, and saw the Los Angeles Clippers complete the largest postseason comeback in NBA history by shocking the Warriors, 135-131, to take Game 2 of their first-round series to even the best-of-7 series at one game apiece.

Rookie Landry Shamet hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds remaining to complete the Clippers’ historic comeback over the Warriors.

The Clippers outscored Golden State 85-58 in the second half. In the third quarter alone, Los Angeles outscored Golden State 44-35. The 44 points were the most in a postseason quarter for Los Angeles.

The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 this Thursday night from Staple Center.

Oh yeah, the Warriors lost center DeMarcus Cousins with what is being reported as a “significant” quad injury for an “extended period of time.”

Cousins injured his left quad muscle after diving to the floor following a steal in the first quarter. Cousins immediately grabbed his left side and limped off the floor and into the locker room.

An MRI for Cousins is scheduled for Tuesday, but it is feared that Cousins will miss the rest of the series if not, the remainder of the Warriors’ playoff run.

Before Warriors fans hit the panic button, let me put you at ease: the Warriors will still win this series. I know that’s not nothing new, but its just reassurance from me.

Sure, the top-seeded Warriors were punched in the mouth by the eighth-seeded Clippers on Monday night behind a career-high 36 points and 11 assists from Lou Williams and 25 points from Montrezl Harrell, but it did take a herculean effort for Los Angeles to take down the two-time defending NBA champions in front of a frenzied, sold out Oracle Arena crowd.

Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who continues to be the team’s biggest mouthpiece, has clearly made life difficult for Kevin Durant in this series. Beverley has been irritating (in a good way) Durant at every point, and even gotten the two of them ejected from Game 1.

You expect Durant, who had 21 points, five rebound and five assists in Game 2 before fouling out, to bounce back in Game 3. Durant finished with more turnovers (9) than shot attempts (8), but shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

Klay Thompson scored 17 points and Draymond Green had 14 points with nine assists.

Golden State committed 21 turnovers in Game 1, then follow up with 22 more on Monday night. The Warriors have been flat out sloppy in protecting the basketball.

When the Warriors protect the basketball and limit the turnovers, they are nearly unbeatable. Golden State got away with that in Game 1, but got caught with their hand in the cookie jar in Game 2.

The Clippers made Golden State pay this time around.

Even in the defeat, one positive the Warriors can take from this loss was the game that backup center Kevon Looney had. After Cousins left the game, Looney played big, finishing with a career-high 19 points and making all six shot attempts.

Looney will most certainly start Game 3 in Cousins’ absence. Looney did make 24 starts this season for the Warriors and will look to build off his breakout performance.

Instead of the projected four-game sweep that everyone penciled for Golden State, the Warriors will end the series in five or six games.

The Clippers exasperated all their energy in securing Game 2 and after stealing a game that they had no business of winning, Los Angeles has gotten the Warriors’ full attention and are beaming with confidence.

That’s not a good thing.

Warriors, behind Thompson’s hot shooting and Cousins’ defense, knock off the Nuggets 122-105

Photo credit: @warriors

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, facing questions about the play of the team after being trashed by the Boston Celtics Tuesday night, bounced back and beat the Denver Nuggets 122-105 at Oracle Arena Friday night. The Warriors entered the game leading the Nuggets by one game for the best record in the Western Conference. The Warriors’ win increased their lead to two with 17 games left to play in the regular season.

The Warriors now lead the Nuggets 2-1 and play once more on April 2nd at Oracle Arena. The task for the Warriors Friday night was to stop the Nuggets’ starting lineup. They needed DeMarcus Cousins to find a way to shackle the Nuggets’ big man Nikola Jokic. Jokic came into the game averaging a triple-double for the season. Wilt Chamberlain was the only other center to be able to do that for an entire season. The Warriors had to find a way to get off to a good start. They had lost five of the last eight games and trailed by more than 10 points at halftime in at least six of the last 10 games played.

Klay Thompson returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Klay helped the Warriors to get off to a good start. His two-game hiatus gave him some needed rest, and he helped propel the Warriors to a 30-20 first quarter. Kevin Durant, Cousins, and Steph Curry all made shots while the Warrior defense kept Denver down. The one drawback in the quarter was the number of fouls the Warriors committed. Those fouls enabled Denver to go on a 12-3 run to close the gap to 10.

The Nuggets tied the game early in the second quarter at 34. From that point, the lead changed hands several times. The Warriors were leading 53-48 when they went on a 14-2 run to finish the first half with a 17-point lead 67-50. Klay made two threes and Curry helped out with one of his own. Denver’s Malik Beasley kept the Nuggets close as he made four threes and led the Nuggets with 14. None of the Denver starters were in double figures. Jokic was held to 8 points and 3 boards. Klay Thompson had 27 in the first 24 minutes. Kevin Durant had 16, Steph Curry 9, and Andre Iguodala had 5 coming off the bench.

The closest the Nuggets came was 79-70 after the Warriors made too many turnovers. The Nuggets capitalized, but the Warriors righted the ship and increased the lead to 15 90-75 at the end of three periods. In the fourth quarter, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry increased the lead to 21, 105-84. Klay continued to make threes. Cousins hit a three and raised his hands upward as he had not hit one for several games. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr removed the starters and the second unit players finished the game as the Warriors won 122-105.

Game Notes and Stats: DeMarcus Cousins had his best defensive effort since his return from the devastating Achilles tendon injury he suffered last season when he was a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. He had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. He also had 3 steals and six blocked shots. It was, without question, an All-Star performance. He also held Jokic to just 16 points and handled the Nuggets other big, Mason Plumlee.

Klay Thompson led the team with 39 points. Thompson made nine threes in 11 attempts. Durant had 26, Steph Curry 17, and Kevon Looney had 9 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.

Malik Beasley led the Nuggets with 17. Beasley mad 5 threes, but was held to just 3 points in the second half. Jokic finished with 16. Will Barton had 5, Gary Harris 6, and Jamal Murray 11.

The Warriors are now 45-20 and own a two-game lead of the 43-22 Nuggets for the NBA Western Conference lead.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the very young and, suddenly, improving Phoenix Suns. The Suns upset the Milwaukee Bucks last week and cannot be taken lightly. Game time will be at 5:30 pm Sunday night.

The Warriors then go on the road for four games. They face the Houston Rockets Wednesday night for the fourth time this season.

The Rockets lead the series 3-0. They then go to Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Minnesota.

Warriors win 112-94, despite Cousins fouling out in team debut

Photo credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

By Pearl Allison Lo

LOS ANGELES — Amidst a plethora of fouls, including technicals, DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins was one of the ones who did not receive a technical, as the Golden State Warriors moved to 1-1 on the Los Angeles Clippers floor this season Friday.

After chemistry issues emerged after the last time they were on this court, the Warriors added a new player into the mix in the form of DeMarcus Cousins, who made his first return to NBA game play since tearing his Achilles tendon almost a year ago, on January 26th. Golden State had just played his former team, the New Orleans Pelicans, at Oracle prior to traveling down.

On how Cousins felt being back, he exclaimed, “felt like a kid on Christmas.”

Regarding team chemistry, “The first three minutes were weird,” noted the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Cousins mentioned “…this was our first time playing together. Steve (Kerr) just kind of threw us out there into the fire…We haven’t even really practiced together.”   

Cousins received a foul in each quarter, two in the first and fouled out with 8:51 left in the game. He played a total of 15 minutes, scored 14 points including three threes, had six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one turnover. There were a total of 54 personal fouls, 30 for Los Angeles and 24 for Golden State. For technicals, the Warriors’ Draymond Green led with two, other recipients being teammate Kevin Durant, opposing Coach Doc Rivers and the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley. Beverley also fouled out with 5:43 left.

Los Angeles continued on a now five-game losing streak. It was their lowest scoring total since December 13. Meanwhile, Golden State held onto a now seven-game winning streak, their lowest scoring total since December 27.

The Clippers were without guard Lou Williams, who had a sore right hamstring, and forward Danilo Galinari. who only played eight minutes after being hit in the bag.   

The first half was close, with the Warriors’ biggest lead of six points and Los Angeles’ four points.

The first quarter saw five ties and three lead changes.

Cousin’s first bucket was a dunk of authority off a pass from Durant over a minute into the game. “I’m just glad to know I can still dunk, remarked Cousins.” Cousins then scored a rebound off a missed three from Curry, but was called for a loose ball foul instead.

With 1:17 left in the opening quarter, Beverly committed a foul, after which Durant threw the ball at him. The leading scorers after the first were Tobias Harris for the Clippers with 13 and Durant with 10. The first quarter ended with a technical on Rivers with Durant taking and missing the technical free throw.

Golden State held onto the lead with 1:38 left in the first until Los Angeles moved ahead with 5:47 left in the second with the 37-36 score, but the lead only lasted one possession.

Back in the game in the second, Cousins missed a three before receiving his third foul. Green received his first technical with 8:10 left. Cousins got to the free throw line for the first time with 7:45 left and went 1-for-2.

Beverley received his technical with 14.6 seconds left and with the game reaching a 50-50 tie, Green broke the tie with an emphatic dunk as he swung in the air, received his second technical with 3.2 seconds left.

In the third, the Warriors built up their biggest lead yet, 66-53, as they went on a14-2 run with Green, Durant, Curry, Thompson and Cousins all scoring.

Durant received his tech with 6:35 to go and Curry scored 14 points in the third quarter, all made without a three.

Cousins got his fifth foul 30 seconds into the fourth.  Later Cousins hit a three and flashed the three point sign towards the Clippers bench before hitting another three in a row the next time he was in front of them. He then had a steal, assist and rebound later before fouling out completely with 8:51 left.

Durant broke the 100-point mark for Golden State with a three and also helped them reach their biggest lead of the game, at 22 with the 102-80 score with 3:58 left.

Up Next: The Warriors will stay in town to face the Los Angeles Lakers Monday at 7:30 pm.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Cousins back ready to face the Nuggets on Friday; Kerr to take a look at him and his Achilles

Photo credit: @NBAonTNT

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David:

#1 The Warriors at the halfway mark are first in the Pacific Division game, facing the Denver Nuggets and the Nuggets beat the Warriors earlier in the season. DeMarcus Cousins is back on Friday night.

#2 How has the bench been performing and an assessment on Jonas Jerebko? With Kevon Looney going back to the second unit with Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, what’s that going to be like to work Jerebko in the second rotation?

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports with London Marq: Cardinals fired Wilks too soon; With no GM experience, Mayock expected to put Raiders together; Despite loss, Kings an up and coming team; plus more

http://www.purdueexponent.org file photo: Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks held this facial expression for most of the Cardinals’ 3-13 season.

On the Headlines Sports podcast with London:

#1 Steve Wilks was fired after coaching the Arizona Cardinals to a 3-13 season. Wilks was fired after coaching one season for the Cardinals.

#2 Oakland Raiders new general manager Mike Mayock, who is considered a draft expert and a former analyst for NFL Network, will try his hand as the Raiders’ GM.

#3 The Sacramento Kings played a close game in Los Angeles only to lose to the Lakers 121-114. Despite the loss, the Kings have played much improved this season.

#4 Will the Golden State Warriors’ DeMarcus Cousins stay on with the Warriors? Cousins has been injured all season and has yet to see action as a Warrior. Will he come back next season?

#5 NFL Wild Card games coming up Saturday: In the AFC, Indianapolis at Houston, and the NFC, Seattle @ Dallas. Sunday’s slate: In the AFC, Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore, and in the NFC, Philadelphia at Chicago.

London does Headlines Sports each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors start season with win over OKC Thunder 108-100

photo from goldenstateofmind.com: Forward Paul George (13) the OKC Thunder pushes against the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) on opening night at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Tuesday night

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors, after unfurling their sixth NBA Championship banner and receiving their rings, started their quest for the third championship in a row and fourth in five seasons with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-100 at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night. It was not easy as both the Warriors and Thunder were not in mid-season form. Both teams play looked ragged at times, but the Warriors played defense down the stretch to win the game.

The Warriors did get off to a good start in the first quarter as they outscored the Thunder 31-23. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson looked sharp. Things changed a bit in the second period, but the Warriors outscored the Thunder by two to finish the first half with a 10-point lead, 57-47. Curry finished the half with 19 points, and he made five 3-point shots in six attempts. Durant had 15, and Thompson added 10. Draymond Green made just one bucket good for 2 points, but he showed his defensive prowess with nine rebounds and five assists in the first half. Dennis Schroder, a former Atlanta Hawk, led the Thunder with 12 points. Steve Adams had nine, and Paul George kicked in with six.

The Warriors, who owned the third quarter last season, struggled as the Thunder fought their way back into the game. OKC started the period with a 22-9 run and took the lead 67-66. From that point forward, the lead seesawed between the two teams. The Thunder won the period 32-26, but the Warriors still finished with a four-point lead 83-79. The Warriors could not pull away from the Thunder until late in the fourth quarter. The Warriors led by four 95-91 with a little of six minutes left in the game. OKC cut the deficit to two 99-97, but Curry made a layup and got fouled on the play. He made the free throw, and the lead was back to five, 102-97. With time running out, Kevon Looney made a two-point bucket that ignited the crowd. Durant scored to put Golden State up 106-99. However, Durant landed awkwardly on his right shoulder, and the Arena went silent. The big guy rose to his feet and shook off the injury, and the fans let out a huge collective sigh of relief. Durant scored the last bucket of the night, and the Warriors finished the night with their first victory of the season.

Game Notes and Stats: At times, as mentioned above, the play looked sloppy on both sides. The Warriors turned the ball over 20 times, and head coach Steve Kerr was not happy as he wants the team to handle the ball better and keep turnovers to under fifteen. Kerr knows his players are still getting in shape and looked tired, saying: “We didn’t look much like ourselves. It’s not surprising either. We need a couple more weeks.”

Kevin Durant who played well as he knocked down 27 points and had 8 rebounds and six assists said this about the team’s performance.

“I love who we are, game 1 of 82,” Durant said. “Just keep grinding.”

Steph Curry led the team with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists. Curry  did not make a 3-pointer in the second half and ended the night with 5 for 9 in that department. Klay Thompson finished with 10. Draymond Green did not score in the second half, but he finished the night with an astounding 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Green admitted that he was tired, but he did not play much in the preseason as he was resting a sore knee. The Warriors big men, Kevon Looney and Damian Jones, played well. Looney scored 10 points and had 10 boards. Jones had a career-high 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 boards.

Paul George caught fire in the second half and finished the night with 27 points for OKC. Steve Adams finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Dennis Schroder added 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Thunder’s leader and All-Star guard Russell Westbrook did not play as he was sidelined with a knee injury.

Up Next: The Warriors travel to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz Friday night. Game time will be at 7:30 pm PT and will be shown on ESPN.

3 reasons why the Warriors’ signing of DeMarcus Cousins won’t work out

Photo credit: @DimeUPROXX

By: Ana Kieu

When DeMarcus Cousins joined the Golden State Warriors, this forced many NBA fans to let out a heavy sigh, as the unstoppable force got even more unstoppable. Cousins reportedly signed a 1-year deal worth $5.3 million, which isn’t one of the biggest contracts, but still far less than what he likely could’ve earned with another team.

Cousins technically didn’t do anything he wasn’t allowed to do, according to the NBA salary cap structure. But this debatable fact hasn’t stopped fans from judging Cousins in a similar way like they likely did with Kevin Durant, who did something almost identical  a few years ago.

But here’s the question: Why did the Warriors sign Cousins? Obviously, the signing of Durant was helpful, but is Cousins the real deal?

Here are 3 reasons why the Warriors’ signing of Cousins won’t work out.

1. Is Team Chemistry An Issue?
The Warriors are apparently treating Cousins like he’s the next big thing when that title should be given to Durant.

Sure, Steph Curry may have called Cousins the third Splash Brother, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll be a positive force on the Warriors’ roster.

The 3rd splash Brother 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. Let’s go @boogiecousins

— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) July 3, 2018

According to Twitter, Durant may not be Cousins’ biggest fan. Additionally, Draymond Green had a few words with Cousins before the deal was signed, and admitted that they’d need to put their differences aside in order to succeed.

So is the deal really worth the potential team chemistry issues that might arise? Either the Warriors signed Cousins because they know he’s not going to be around for a long time or he’ll be with the team long after Green, Durant and Klay Thompson sign contracts with other teams?

2. He’s Probably Not Going To Stay
On the topic of a short-term stay or an extended lodge, this isn’t likely going to be a long-term relationship between Cousins and Golden State. Regardless of where the Big Four end up, will Cousins really be around for the long run?

There has been speculation that the rest of the NBA didn’t come calling for Cousins and that’s why he signed with the Warriors. If that’s true, this will be nothing more than a showcase year to prove that Cousins isn’t injured. However, if he turns out to be successful, he might get a max contract next summer, but many players who need to prove that they’re worth the big bucks turn out to have no loyalty towards a team.

3. Warriors Have No Moves Remaining
The signing of Cousins was arguably the Warriors’ biggest move this summer. Some fans may suggest the Warriors won’t need to do anything else, but that might not be true, and even if they do, they can’t right now.

If you think that the signing of Cousins automatically means saying goodbye to Nick Young and Jamal Crawford, think again. The Warriors are losing to key players off their bench.

That being said, Cousins’ deal uses up the Warriors’ luxury tax mid-level exception. That means there will be less help from the bench, especially if Cousins recuperates from his injury and spends more time on the court than the Big Four. An injury to any one of these guys could be devastating as there will be fewer options in the backups department.

Warriors’ signing of DeMarcus Cousins will be beneficial

Photo credit: @boogiecousins

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

After news broke that four-time NBA All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins had signed with the world champion Golden State Warriors agreed to the one-year veteran’s minimum of $5.3 million on Monday, it’s like the Warriors delivered a massive gut-punch to the rest of the NBA.

Golden State already have four All-Stars in back-to-back Finals: MVP Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson; so adding a player like Cousins was the rich getting richer.

Sure there are some risks involved when you do bring Cousins into your locker room, such as his reputation of being a malcontent, unhappy, a bully and destructive, mainly from his time in Sacramento when things didn’t go right and the losses started to mount up.

The Kings missed the playoffs every year after selecting Cousins with the fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft after one season at Kentucky.

Also, the torn Achilles tendon that Cousins is currently rehabbing. Cousins himself said that he is targeting being ready for full basketball activities by training camp. Most people are expecting Cousins to be on the court by end of December or early January.

Before the injury, Cousins was having a monster season for New Orleans, averaging 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in 48 games for the Pelicans.

For most teams, that timetable for a star player’s return is almost catastrophic, but not for Golden State. The Warriors, who lost fan-favorite in center JaVale McGee to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, can plug in four-year man Kevon Looney, who agreed to return to Golden State on a one-year minimum deal on Tuesday to fill the void in the middle. Looney’s ability to defend guards along with bigs was key for Golden State in the playoffs.

ESPN was the first to report the news on Looney’s contract. The Warriors are also hoping that third-year center Damian Jones makes the leap and contribute on a nightly basis. The 7’0″, 245-pound Jones showed some flashes last season in limited action.

Once healthy, Cousins will play with the ultimate chip on his shoulder after not receiving an offer from any team during the early stages of free agency as most teams had major concerns regarding Cousins’ injury. Cousins’ former team, the Pelicans, didn’t offer him a contract, and according to those in the know around the Pelicans, didn’t want Cousins to return.

So if you’re Cousins, the opportunity to play on the Warriors with the benefits of competing for a championship and having fun while rehabbing is just too much to pass up right? Also if Cousins plays well for Golden State, especially come playoff time when he would be greatly useful for scoring easy baskets inside, then a team will be willing to pony-up a hefty contract for “Boogie.”

For Golden State, Cousins potentially solves the one position that has been a glaring weakness during a four-year run that has produced three titles (first coming in 2015), and back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018.

With the strong bond and the accountability that the Warriors’ locker room prides itself on, Cousins should be a model citizen.