And-Ones: Cousins, Howard, Wolters, Doumbouya

While he hasn’t officially announced his retirement from the NBA, DeMarcus Cousins admitted during a conversation with Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype that he doesn’t really expect to be back in the league.

“Honestly, no,” Cousins said when asked if he’s hoping for a potential NBA return soon. “I know I’ve had my time there. You know, there was a point where I was trying to make that happen. But the place I’m in my life now, just with everything I’ve got going on, just outside of basketball, like I’m in a good place.

“So, like I said, I’m excited for what I have ahead and my future. You know, my 12 years in the league were a small chapter or chapters in my life. And, I’m ready to move on to the next and see what’s in store for me.”

A four-time All-Star, Cousins was a dominant interior force in his prime, averaging at least 24 points and 11 rebounds per game for four straight seasons from 2014-18 for Sacramento and New Orleans.

However, a series of leg injuries – including a torn Achilles, a torn quad, and a torn ACL – in 2018 and 2019 derailed his career. Since playing for the Nuggets in 2021/22, the 33-year-old has been out of the NBA, competing professionally in Puerto Rico and Taiwan.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • A Georgia judge has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Dwight Howard that accuses the former NBA star of sexual assault and battery, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPN. The case remains in the discovery phase, with no trial scheduled yet, per Holmes. Stephen Harper, who filed the civil suit last July, alleges that Howard assaulted him during a July 2021 encounter, while Howard’s attorneys have repeatedly stated that it was consensual.
  • Nate Wolters, who appeared in 84 NBA regular season games after being selected 38th overall in the 2013 draft, recently announced his retirement as a player, according to Andy Rennecke of St. Cloud Live. The Summit League Player of the Year for South Dakota State in 2013 and later a member of the Bucks, Pelicans, and Jazz, Wolters hasn’t been in the NBA since the 2017/18 season. However, he played internationally for several seasons after that, with stops in France, Lithuania, Israel, Russia, Serbia, and Greece.
  • Former NBA first-round pick Sekou Doumbouya will continue his career in his home country of France. The 23-year-old forward has signed with Chorale Roanne Basket for the rest of the season, according to a press release from the team. The 15th overall pick in 2019, Doumbouya spent two seasons with the Pistons and last played in the NBA with the Lakers in 2021/22.
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