‘THREE!’ chronicles the Warriors run to the 2018 NBA Championship.

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LAS VEGAS – The Warriors carve out nearly an infinite amount of contingency plans based on best-case and worst-case scenarios Incidentally, acquiring All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins at the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.3 million) did not represent any of those contingency plans.

Even if the Warriors have become an embarrassment of riches with a new starting lineup that has combined for 25 NBA All-Star appearances, they are wrestling with a question that partly explains why Cousins became available in the first place.

When will Cousins return from a left Achilles tendon injury?

“The goal for us is to have him in the playoffs,” Myers said at halftime of the Warriors’ 87-81 summer-league loss on Sunday to the Houston Rockets. “That doesn’t mean we’ll wait until the playoffs. When he’s ready to play, he’ll play. We just don’t know when that will be.”

The Warriors might have some clarity soon.

Myers said that Cousins plans to get reevaluated later this month on his progress since sustaining the injury with the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 26 against Houston. Shortly after the Warriors agreed to a deal with Cousins last Monday, Cousins told The Undefeated he planned to return in time for training camp in late September. Shortly after signing his contract in Las Vegas on Friday, though, Cousins changed his message that fits more with what the Warriors want.

“I think the surgery is anywhere from eight to ten months from the time you have it,” Myers said. “For us, it won’t be, ‘We need you to get out there tonight. It’ll be ramping it up slowly. You can’t really tell with a guy until they get on the court and does certain things.” To subscribe to the Planet Dubs podcast click here.

The Warriors have that luxury to wait because they have four other All-Stars in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Warriors did not immediately dismiss concerns about Cousins’ injury, though, when his representatives contacted Myers last Monday. Myers said his camp allowed the Warriors to look into Cousins’ medical records.

None of which Myers expected to happen. The Warriors had simply hoped to bolster their wing depth and add youth to a roster by using their taxpayer midlevel exception and veteran’s minimum deals. Myers called Cousins’ initial contact “one of those unexpected moments.”

“You never know how it’s going to culminate. We don’t have an established center so it actually worked out well,” Myers said. “The fact we can play some of the young guys heading into the season and waiting for them to get ready, it’s good for us.”

After all, the Warriors allowed JaVale McGee to accept a veteran’s minimum deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. On Sunday, Zaza Pachuilia accepted a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, while veteran David West likely faces retirement from a 15-year NBA career. And the Warriors plan to carve out larger roles next season for second-year forward Jordan Bell and third-year center Damian Jones.

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That leaves the Warriors almost done with free agency. Myers said he is “pretty close” in finalizing the roster after also drafting Cincinnati guard/forward Jacob Evans and re-signing fourth-year forward Kevon Looney. The Warriors are expected to re-sign restricted free agent Patrick McCaw and sign forward Jonas Jerebko, who was recently waived by the Utah Jazz. The Warriors will then likely keep their last roster spot open for cost-saving and flexibility purposes.

All of which leaves Myers confident about the moves even if Evans has averaged only 6.25 points on 32 percent shooting through four summer league games.

“I would never compare Summer League to NBA basketball good or bad,” Myers said. “What this is is a good chance to get acclimated to the game. I decide to evaluate players three or four years after we enter the NBA. We’re all prone to being wrong whether we think someone is too good or not good enough in their first week of the NBA career. It’s not good for anyone else. We’re hoping and we think we can put him out there.”

And if that does not work out right away, well the Warriors can lean on five different All-Stars. And if Cousins is not immediately available, well, the Warriors still have four other All-Stars.

“If you asked me before,” Myers said, “I’m not going to say DeMarcus Cousins we thought was a reality going into free agency.”

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