Boogie Cousins excited for reunion with Kentucky buddy John Wall

Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins is excited to be reunited with John Wall this season, with the longtime friends also being college teammates at Kentucky several years ago, as relayed by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

“Man, that’s incredible,” Cousins said. “That’s something we planned and dreamed about for a long time. I’m pretty sure he’s just as grateful for this moment as I am. I’m super excited. There’s obviously a chemistry between me and him from our college days. Not only were we teammates in college, we’ve known each other since we were 14 years old. He was actually one of the groomsmen in my wedding. That’s my brother for life.

“I believe his game speaks for itself. He’s an incredible talent. That’s a given. The combination of him and James (Harden), that’s tough for any team to match up with.”

Houston acquired Wall, along with a 2023 protected first-round pick, in exchange for Russell Westbrook in a trade with the Wizards last week. The Rockets have reloaded with hopes of contending this season, surrounding James Harden with Wall, Cousins, Christian Wood, Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker and others.

Here are some other notes from the Southwest Division tonight:

• Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan is prepared to buy into San Antonio's current situation, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. DeRozan, 31, is set to enter his third season with San Antonio, a team that has a mixture of young players and veterans. He picked up a $27.7 million player option to return to the club last month. “That was one of my main reasons for coming back,” DeRozan said, “the faith and the confidence I had in those young guys and wanting to be a part of what we started in the bubble.”
• Mavericks forward James Johnson has yet to practice due to a strained MCL, coach Rick Carlisle said, as relayed by Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Johnson is on track to be involved in some activity by Tuesday or Wednesday, Caplan adds.
• Rockets guard Ben McLemore hopes to improve on his best NBA season to date with Houston, returning with hopes of establishing himself as a better player in his second campaign, Jonathan Feigen writes in a separate article for the Houston Chronicle. McLemore, 27, averaged 10.1 points in 22.8 minutes per game last season, shooting 44% from the floor and 40% from behind-the-arc.