Pelicans' Davis, Cousins training together this offseason

DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are getting a head start on building chemistry.

The talented New Orleans Pelicans big men have been spending a lot of time this offseason training together in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in preparation for their first training camp as teammates.

"We've just tried to get in as much work as possible this summer," Davis told pelicans.com's Jim Eichenhofer, noting he and Cousins didn't get much time to adjust to one another after Boogie abruptly joined the team following All-Star Weekend via a blockbuster trade from the Sacramento Kings.

"We wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, where we had time in the summer in the same city and can get in some work together, because we'll be playing with each other a lot.

"It's about trying to get used to each other. ... (I'm) learning where he likes to be and where I can get my shots from, or where he can get his shots. We didn't want to waste training camp trying to figure that out. We're going to both use this to be ready and try to improve the team."

While Davis already knew Cousins was talented from their previous matchups, the increased exposure to him over the past few months has left The Brow even more impressed with his frontcourt mate.

"He has a lot more in his game than people say," the 24-year-old superstar said. "He can shoot the ball very well. He's doing some stuff that is going to be great for us this year - I don't want to give it away, but he's working out and doing a lot of great things. I think everybody knows that he lost a ton of weight. He's trying to do whatever he can to improve the team. He knows it starts with himself off the floor, but of course on the floor as well.

"We've both been working on a lot of stuff to improve our games. I never had a chance to work out with him before this summer, or see him work out. It's been great watching how hard he goes."

Cousins suited up in 17 contests for the Pelicans, stuffing the stat sheet with 24.4 points, 12.4 boards, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks next to AD. However, New Orleans went 7-10 over that stretch and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

With more practice together, the All-Star tandem hopes to lead the club to the postseason in the Wild West.