Head coach Steve Kerr said Thursday that Cousins (Achilles) will be in the starting lineup once he is cleared to play, Logan Murdock of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Currently, the target date for Cousins' return from a torn Achilles is Jan. 18 against the Clippers, and Kerr will waste no time having the big man become a key part of the defending champions. Despite starting, it's still likely that Cousins is placed on a minutes restriction in his first few games back considering that it will have been nearly a year since he last took the court. Regardless, once Cousins does make his Warriors debut, look for the fantasy value of mainly Kevon Looney and Jonas Jerebko to steadily dwindle as they see less and less minutes in the frontcourt.

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