Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Kings Legend Signs Contract With Taiwan Beer Leopards

Originally posted on Sacramento Kings on SI
By Logan Struck | Last updated Dec 18, 2023 7:06 PM ET

The Sacramento Kings have a short list of players they could consider "legends," but DeMarcus Cousins is certainly one of them. The former King was the 5th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, spending the prime of his career in Sacramento until getting traded to the New Orleans Pelicans halfway through the 2016-17 season.

Since leaving Sacramento, Cousins has had poor injury luck, failing to appear in 50+ games each season. The injuries ultimately got the best of the four-time All-Star, forcing him out of the league after the 2021-22 season.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Cousins is signing a ten-day, four-game contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards.

Four-time NBA All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins’ agreement with the Taiwan Beer Leopards is for a 10-day and four game period, sources tell ESPN. Cousins is expected to join the team in mid-January.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 18, 2023

The Beer Leopards are a T1 League team based in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Cousins joins the same team that former NBA MVP Dwight Howard famously joined last year.

Cousins played on four different teams between 2020 and 2022 as he heads to Taiwan, likely hoping for an NBA comeback. After Howard had a successful season with the Leopards, there were constant rumors about him joining an NBA team, including the Kings, in the off-season, but the move never happened.

While a return to Sacramento is unlikely, if Cousins proves he can still play at a moderately high level, Kings fans could likely get behind a Boogie return. While Cousins will only spend ten days with the Leopards, this could be a career-saving move if everything goes right.

This article first appeared on Sacramento Kings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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