DeMarcus Cousins
In January 2018, DeMarcus Cousins went down with a torn Achilles which forced him to leave the game of basketball for a full year. When he recovered, things were looking good despite a dip in his production. Then came a devastating ACL injury he sustained in the preseason that put his career on hold yet again. From then on, he bounced from one team to another, never really finding the team that valued the kind of player he was before.
Then you see guys like Klay Thompson who still get so much hype and respect even after suffering the same injuries Boogie did. Granted, Cousins is not the flashy shooter Thompson is but this guy was almost equally as important for the Sacramento Kings franchise. He was a four-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, and a member of the All-Rookie team when he was with the Kings and New Orleans Pelicans.
Even with all the injuries and dip in productivity, Cousins is a great player. He comes with a lot of grit, intensity, and attitude that won’t show up on the stat sheet. He is a versatile big that can do everything for your second unit. He is fearless and won’t back down no matter what.
Imagine if he the Kings acquire him again if the Nuggets opt not to re-sign him. He could fill in the role of a stable replacement for Richaun Holmes. He also has a ton of experience that could help this young team find an identity under new head coach Alvin Gentry. He may not be the same player as he was in his prime but Cousins does not deserve to be removed from the NBA completely. – Renee Ticzon
Jamal Crawford
I think the obvious answer is Jamal Crawford. He seems perfect for the role of just coming in and getting buckets. He’s a three-time Sixth Man of the Year so you know he’s tailormade for those quick scoring bursts that every team needs.
Even at 41, he seems in pretty good shape and has expressed subtle hints of wanting to get back when a lot of his peers were getting 10-day contracts. He last played for the Brooklyn Nets during the Orlando bubble and returning to play for Steve Nash this season doesn’t seem a far-fetched idea. Kyrie Irving is a part-time player while Kevin Durant is injured. Just imagine him in a three-guard lineup alongside James Harden and Patty Mills. Wouldn’t that look deadly?
Plus, when you think of someone like Crawford, he is one of those guys who just love to play the game. That may sound like a cliche but you know what I’m talking about. You can put him in any league, on any court, on any day of the week and he’ll play. If he was a Filipino, he’d be playing in flip-flops every day if he had to.
Just last July, Crawford scored 101 points (!) in two straight games in his pro-am league, The Crawsover in Seattle. The guy can score in his sleep! – Yoyo Sarmenta
Baron Davis
Before Ja Morant and Trae Young did jaw-dropping things at the point guard spot, Baron Davis was the guy doing those things. Before the “Unicorn” tag was slapped on nearly every player doing something out of the ordinary, Baron Davis was the guy doing unicorn-y things.
Boom Dizzle (that nickname alone deserves at the very least a G League stint) was a 6-foot-3, 210-pound showboat with soaring basketball IQ. He can dazzle with the dribble, chuck 3s at reckless abandon, and take souls belonging to the likes of Andrei Kirilenko. Think Morant’s creativity around the rim mixed with Young’s range and a dash of Russell Westbrook’s ferociousness all jammed in Raymond Felton’s body. That’s Baron Davis.
He wasn’t supposed to be doing the things he did on the court, but he did it consistently, with toughness, and with such unique swag—at a time when swag actually mattered. The New York Knicks could use some of that. — Jon Carlos Rodriguez
Raymond Townsend
The NBA’s 75th season is a year-long nostalgia-fueled celebration. The league has been doing a fantastic service to its fans by revisiting the past, remembering the pioneers, and acknowledging how much the league has grown.
So if there's any player I would want to see get a 10-day contract—even just as an honorary member—it would be Raymond Townsend, the man who opened the doors for Pinoy ballers.
The Golden State Warriors don’t need to give him real minutes, but the significance of having three players of Filipino descent all in the NBA at the same time—even for a short period—would be huge for the Philippines.
The league could even make an All-Star gimmick out if it—bring back the Shooting Stars competition with an international twist. Create teams of different nationalities to showcase the NBA's diversity and how much the league has grown globally.
Imagine the Filipino trio of Townsend, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson, and hotshot rookie Jalen Green going up against Team Germany (Dirk Nowitzki, Detlef Schrempf, and Franz Wagner), Team Spain (Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, and Ricky Rubio), and Team Australia (Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles, and Josh Giddey). — JC Ansis
Jeremy Lin
The New York Knicks should absolutely sign Jeremy Lin and bring back “Linsanity”. Remember that truly enjoyable period when Lin put on legendary shows at Madison Square Garden? He took the league by storm and captured the hearts of a passionate fanbase. It’s one of the most amazing breakthrough moments in the NBA, and who knows what could have happened if his time with the Knicks was not cut short?
Lin moved from one team to another, and after being left unsigned in 2019, he decided to take his talents to China. He hoped for an NBA comeback as he took his shot with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League this past year, but he ended up returning to China with no NBA offers coming his way.
It would be awesome to see Lin back in the NBA, specifically back at the Garden. One of the trailblazers for Asian-American players, Lin has proven that he can still ball. All he needs is another opportunity to showcase what he’s capable of. — Charmie Lising
Kobe Bryant
Not to be overly sentimental but one of the first people I thought about when guys like Joe Johnson and Isaiah Thomas was Kobe Bryant.
If the man were still alive, there would have been at least a two-day news cycle of what if Kobe came back for the Los Angeles Lakers for at least a 10-day contract. There was, after all, a stretch when the Lakers had eight players in health and safety protocols.
We would have gotten someone from First Take or Inside The NBA to bring it up, then a tweet from a reporter close to Kobe. Ultimately, I don't think he would have come back. Before he passed, Bryant seemed at peace with his retirement, almost stepping away from the game until his daughter Gianna started taking basketball seriously.
He would have been 42 years old today and could probably still get buckets if he wanted to mess around with a 10-day contract. It would have been nice just to have Kobe turn down these hypotheticals in his own way. This might have been a bit off-track, but it is late January. One can't help but miss Kobe. — Miguel Flores
