The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent center DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins, 31, is a 10-year NBA veteran with averages of 20.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocked shots in 606 career regular season games with the Kings, Pelicans, Warriors, Rockets and Clippers.

“DeMarcus is incredibly talented and his size, toughness and experience will help us,” said Jon Horst. “He will provide added depth to our front court rotation and we look forward to working him into our system.”

Cousins most recently played in 41 games (11 starts) last season with Houston (25 games, 11 starts) and the Los Angeles Clippers (16 games), combining to average 8.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 17.4 minutes per game.

The Milwaukee Bucks will sign Ja'Vonte Smart of the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League to a Two-Way contract. Smart has averaged 22 points per game in the G League this season.

The Bucks will waive Justin Robinson to create a roster spot for Smart.

The Milwaukee Bucks are signing free agent center DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins has not played in the NBA this season. He was waived by the LA Clippers at the end of the 2021 preseason.

Cousins will be signing a non-guaranteed veteran minimum contract with the Bucks. Milwaukee was one of seven NBA teams with an open roster spot. The Bucks have been without center Brook Lopez for all but one game this season. Lopez has been sidelined due to back soreness.

Last season, Cousins played in 41 combined games with the Clippers and Houston Rockets. Cousins averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in his 10th season in the NBA.

DeMar DeRozan's agent, Aaron Goodwin, worked on a sign-and-trade for his client to end up with the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason. The plans, however, were derailed when the Lakers instead acquired Russell Westbrook on a draft day trade.

DeRozan instead went to the Chicago Bulls on a sign-and-trade.

“I felt like going to the Lakers was a done deal and that we were going to figure it out. I was going to come home,” DeRozan told Yahoo Sports. “The business side of things just didn’t work out. A couple of things didn’t align. It didn’t work out. It’s just part of the business, part of the game. My next option was definitely Chicago. So, looking back at it, it worked out well.

“But there’s always motivation. It may be just to come home and play in front of friends and family, competing against teams you grew up watching. There are all sorts of motivations that you carry and you try to channel that energy into the game. I find that in every game, but definitely coming back to your hometown, you want to play well and you have that motivation to put on a great show.”

The Los Angeles Clippers were also interested in DeRozan, but lacked the ability to realistically acquire him.

“They didn’t have much, but it was a conversation that was brought up and it didn’t get as far as the Lakers’ situation,” DeRozan told Yahoo Sports. “Both L.A. teams were definitely a big possibility for me.”

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Sekou Doumboya and will sign Chaundee Brown to his vacant Two-Way roster spot.

Doumbouya is currently rehabbing a foot injury.

While Alex Caruso received a four-year, $37 million offer from the Chicago Bulls in free agency, he was willing to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year, $20 million deal. Caruso's deal with the Bulls was only guaranteed for $30 million.

The Lakers, however, stayed at their offer of $21 million over three years. 

Caruso was the Lakers' first call in free agency, but they never budged from their initial offer. 

“No dollars and cents higher than that ever came back,” Caruso said. “There’s no counters. It was just, I think, that was kind of all they had. And at that point, it was like, okay, I have to make an executive decision based on real life here.”

The Lakers eventually signed Talen Horton-Tucker to a three-year, $31 million deal. 

During an appearance on J.J. Redick's podcast, Alex Caruso indirectly he confirmed he was willing to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers on a contract worth less than the one offered by the Chicago Bulls.

“So going into (free agency), I really didn’t know what to expect, and I really didn’t hear much from any team — including the Lakers — leading up to 6 p.m., and then they called, and the Lakers made their offer," said Caruso as transcribed by Silver Screen & Roll. "It wasn’t an offer I was going to accept because I was going to be able to get considerably more money from another team.

“There was talk with a bunch of different people about the mid-level, which I think was four (years), $40 million. We never got anybody to that actual number, but there were a couple teams that got close. And then my agent texted me and said ‘hey, Chicago is interested in signing you.’ I didn’t know that financially it was going to be able to work. I thought that once Zo (Lonzo Ball) signed with Chicago, I was like ‘OK, so Chicago is off the list.’

“I got on the phone with (Bulls GM Artūras Karnišovas) and with (head coach Billy Donovan), and the way they were just talking about how they wanted to play and how they saw me as a player, I thought they hit the nail on the head. I thought everything they said, I was like ‘I think that’s accurate, I think that’s what I bring to the table, I think that’s how I can help the team win, I think that’s the direction this team wants to go.’ I thought there was a need for the stuff that I had.

“Essentially we got that offer, went back to L.A., asked if they could do the same, they said ‘no.’ Asked for something else that was a little less, they said ‘no.’ So I said ‘OK, if that’s what it comes to, I’m ready to go to Chicago and start the next chapter.’ It’s been great. I think it’s been a great decision for me.”

The best offer from the Lakers was only $15 million for two seasons compared to the four-year, $37 million deal from the Bulls.  

Caruso is represented by Greg Lawrence of Wasserman. 

The Capital City Go-Go have signed Greg Monroe.

Monroe last played in the NBA during the 18-19 season.

During the past two seasons, Monroe has played in Germany and Russia.

Bradley Beal expected to represent the United States in the Olympics, but he tested positive for COVID-19.

“It’s okay to feel down. It’s okay to be in a funk. It’s okay to talk about it. Yeah,” Beal said, “it’s okay to be human sometimes. It was figuring out how to do it, what position I’m in, who do I need to support. Do I need to be the tough one? Am I free to be emotional? Kind of finding that balance. A lot of times, I think I’m a superhero or I can kind of figure things out on my own, but it’s all right to rely on people. I don’t have to be Brad Beal the millionaire helper all the time.”

Beal was offered a four-year extension with the Washington Wizards worth more than $180 million. By waiting until the offseason, Beal could earn $50 million more on a five-year deal.

Beal doesn’t think about it often.

The Toronto Raptors will waive Sam Dekker ahead of his contract guarantee date.

With the Raptors near the tax line, they will likely maintain a 14-man roster until the Goran Dragic situation is resolved.

The Raptors are now $618,540 below the tax line with a current projection of $13 million per team that is below the tax, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.