Report: John Wall wanted to join forces with DeMarcus Cousins

NBA: Playoffs-Toronto Raptors at Washington Wizards

In this day and age of the NBA, player recruiting has huge influence on free agency decisions. John Wall has now fit his way into the business as he attempts to strengthen Washington for the future. Wall sat down and spoke to The Sports Capitol about his recruiting experiences this summer.

“At the time I [thought] we needed a center who could play right [away],” Wall told The Sports Capitol about his free agency talks with Cousins. “Nine times out of 10 [Cousins] is not going to be ready at the beginning of the season. I think we need a guy who can be a starting center right now.”

Wall has a point, if Cousins is healthy — he could be the piece that pushes Washington into the top 4-5 seeds, in the same tier as Boston and Toronto. But, with Cousins’ severe achilles injury, he was not going to be a full-go as a Wizard until nearly the all-star break.

With the money required to sign Cousins, the risk is not worth the reward for the 2018-19 season. Cousins landed in the perfect spot for this season. He even noted it was the smartest decision of his career.

As far as the Wizards go, moving too fast on a risky big man with an injury history is a dangerous game to play considering the backcourt duo they have in John Wall and Bradley Beal.

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