5 Big Men Lakers Should Sign After DeMarcus Cousins' ACL Tear

DeMarcus Cousins can’t catch a break.

The Los Angeles Lakers center reportedly suffered a torn ACL, and it’s safe to say he's done for the 2019-20 NBA season. As title contenders, the Lakers have to continue looking ahead and find a replacement for Boogie ASAP. 

Cousins’ offensive repertoire isn’t easy to find on the market, but the following bigs should be considered to fill the minutes that Cousins was meant to play.

5. Greg Monroe

Monroe is a prime example of a player whose style doesn’t fit today’s standards, making him the perfect reclamation project for a LeBron-led team. James is known for making his teammates better, and can pick spots in the offense for Moose to work. Next season will be Monroe’s 10th if he can find a spot on an NBA roster, but he may have to show extended range on his jumper in order to do so.

4. Amir Johnson

Johnson has slowly declined over the past several years, shooting a career-worst 50.1% from the field with the Sixers last season. Johnson isn’t the most reliable 3-point shooter (at 33% for his career), but can see a spike in that department with spacing courtesy of LeBron and AD. Johnson has carved out a place in the league as a stretch big, holding onto a roster spot every year since 2005.

3. Nene

Nene is in the twilight of his career, but can still provide offensive spurts when needed. The Brazilian hasn’t averaged double-digit points since 2015, making him an option to be used sparingly in order to exploit a matchup. Though the league has gone away from his style of play, the veteran still holds up in the post, where he can school the young guns for a small portion of the game.

2. Joakim Noah

Noah is a long way from being 2014's Defensive Player of the Year, and all anyone could talk about for the past few years was his Knicks contract, but he's still a capable big. Last year, Noah signed with the Grizzlies after only playing seven games two seasons ago. He had a 51.6% effective field goal percentage and hit free throws at the highest clip since his peak in 2014 (71.6%).

1. Kenneth Faried

Faried looked well on his way to becoming a star in the league early on, but has since strayed from that trajectory. The Newark native split his time between the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets last season, averaging the most points (10.4) he’s had since 2016 (12.5). Originally a power forward, Faried is now an energy center who can run the floor with LeBron James and back up Anthony Davis.