SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins will debut on Friday at the center of the basketball universe, playing in front of a celebrity-sprinkled crowd in Los Angeles and a global television audience that still can’t believe he signed last summer with the back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors.
To prepare for this moment after missing nearly a year with a torn left Achilles’ tendon, the four-time all-star center traveled to a funky outpost on the central California coast whose downtown is dotted by surf shops, bong emporiums and wellness studios. There, he found the Kaiser Permanente Arena, a no-frills, 2,500-seat gym surrounded by the San Lorenzo River, an auto shop and a Walgreens.