A gentle reminder that Boogie Cousins is coming back

DeMarcus Cousins, one of the best basketball players in the world, is scheduled to make his season debut on January 18th, 2019. For the champion Golden State Warriors. He’s currently 33% owned in ESPN leagues. Before his Achilles injury last season, Boogie was averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and more than a block and a steal per game. He was a No Doubt 90+% owned fantasy player.

Let’s say that he’s merely 50% of himself. Let’s say that he only plays between 10 and 20 minutes per game, but he gradually increases his MPG as the season goes on, so that he’s ready for the playoffs and so that he provides enough to garner a good contract in the offseason (as I understand it, the Warriors will not have Bird Rights on Boogie, so they won’t be able to resign him).

A center who averages 10 points per game (less than half of Boogie’s average) and 5 rebounds per game is basically what Alex Len is doing this season (Wendell Carter, Jr., is averaging 10 and 7 on the year). You can certainly make the case that Boogie won’t be a fantasy force upon his return. After all, the Warriors don’t have a center who’s averaging 21+ MPG (unless you count Draymond) this season. It’s highly unlikely that they’d force Boogie into big minutes since that doesn’t really jive with their team’s play, and because he’s coming back from a serious injury.

Still, Cousins was a top 20 fantasy player as recently as last year. There has to be a chance, even a slim one, that DMC will be nearly as good as he used to be, even in limited minutes. Isn’t that worth a roster spot at the end of your bench? Again, Boogie’s just 33% owned right now. Odds are that he’s available in your fantasy league on the wire. Or, perhaps he’s available in a trade at a discounted price. Regardless, you should go check right now, ESPECIALLY if you’re in a dynasty league.

Achilles injuries are notoriously difficult to recover from, but there’s absolutely no reason in the world for you to miss out on a possibly elite player for this low an opportunity cost. Hell, the story of the fantasy basketball postseason may just be written by the teams that stashed Boogie so they could enjoy his late season play.

If the Warriors believe, why shouldn’t we?