NBA Today: Top 5 bargain contracts in the league right now

#1 DeMarcus Cousins (Los Angeles Lakers): $3,500,000/year, 1-year deal

Los Angeles Lakers snapped up the free agent

DeMarcus Cousins suffered a devastating injury in the 2017-18 season, an Achilles injury, which led to him sitting out of basketball action until the start of 2019, where he played for the Golden State Warriors.

While he was putting up good numbers, he did not look the same on both ends of the floor, probably due to his lack of conditioning. Another quad injury almost ended his playoffs, but then he still got back for the NBA Finals and looked out of sorts still.

While he has barely played, there were no offers for DeMarcus Cousins in the 2019 NBA Free Agency, a 4 time All-Star. The Los Angeles Lakers managed to snag him in the end, for a 1-year deal at $3.5 million, which seems like one of the biggest bargains.

People forget just how devastating DeMarcus Cousins can be and if this gamble works out, the Lakers might just have set themselves up for the NBA title. With Cousins and Davis and LeBron leading the charge, the defence would be left quaking in their boots.

Cousins, in a hampered season, averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He averaged 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks last season too. He was left in the dust most of the times but the Lakers will be hoping he only gets better with time and if that happens, Cousins will be a really big bargain for the Lakers.