Quinn Cook Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Officially Acquire Anthony Davis In Three-Team Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, Pelicans, and Wizards have officially completed the three-team trade that makes Anthony Davis a Laker. All three teams issued press releases tonight to announce the deal. The structure of the trade is as follows:

Lakers acquire Anthony Davis.
Pelicans acquire Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the Lakers’ 2021 first-round pick (9-30 protected; unprotected in 2022), the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick (unprotected), the right to swap 2023 first-round picks with the Lakers, and cash ($1.1MM; from Wizards).
- Note: The Pelicans will also have the option to defer the 2024 first-round pick to 2025.
Wizards acquire Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, and the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick.

The long-awaited deal was held up slightly today as the Lakers officially finalized a series of signings using their cap room. In order to maximize its cap space, the club had to sign free agents first before acquiring Davis. Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Quinn Cook, and JaVale McGee all signed their contracts with the Lakers since the July moratorium ended this afternoon.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, will now flip the rights to Hunter to the Hawks in a separate deal, putting the No. 4 pick on track to join his new team for Summer League action. Once the deal is done, Atlanta will also be able to complete its trade with the Sixers involving Bruno Fernando and Jordan Bone, then Philadelphia will be able to flip Bone to the Pistons.

For more details on one of the summer’s biggest trades, be sure to check out our previous stories on the Lakers/Pelicans aspect of the deal, as well as the Lakers/Wizards part of the swap.

Lakers Announce Multiple Signings

July 6th, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

After a flurry of moves today, the Lakers have made five of them official, tweets Bill Oram of The Athletic.

The team announced the re-signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee, along with the free agent additions of DeMarcus Cousins, Quinn Cook and Danny Green.

Still to come are the signings of Rajon Rondo, Troy Daniels, Jared Dudley and Alex Caruso, along with confirmation of the mega-deal that will bring Anthony Davis from the Pelicans.

Lakers, Quinn Cook Agree To Two-Year Deal

July 6th, 2019 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have reached an agreement to sign guard Quinn Cook to a two-year, $6MM contract, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Cook became an unrestricted free agent earlier this week when the Warriors withdrew his qualifying offer.

Cook, 26, was a solid contributor off the bench for the Warriors in 2018/19, averaging 6.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a .465/.405/.769 shooting line in 74 games (14.3 MPG).

However, the Dubs had little flexibility to bring back all their free agents and rotation players as a result of the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade deal that will hard-cap team salary at $138.9MM. Cook was one of the odd men out in Golden State, along with Andre Iguodala, Jordan Bell, and likely DeMarcus Cousins and Shaun Livingston too.

Since missing out on Kawhi Leonard, the Lakers have committed a significant chunk of their $32MM in cap room to deals for Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The team also agreed to terms with JaVale McGee and appears likely to slot him into its room exception, so Cook will probably be signed using cap space as well.

Cook is the first point guard the Lakers have added this offseason to a roster that will be led by LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma. The club also reached minimum-salary deals with swingman Troy Daniels and forward Jared Dudley.

Cook is close with James and is also friends with Davis, having played with him briefly in New Orleans in 2017, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Rescind Quinn Cook’s Qualifying Offer

July 3rd, 2019 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have withdrawn their qualifying offer to restricted free agent guard Quinn Cook, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As a result of the move, Cook will become an unrestricted free agent. That means he’ll be able to sign outright with any team without any risk that Golden State would match an offer sheet.

Cook, 26, was a solid contributor off the bench for the Warriors in 2018/19, averaging 6.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a .465/.405/.769 shooting line in 74 games (14.3 MPG).

However, the hard-capped Dubs have little flexibility to bring back all their free agents as a result of the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade deal that will hard-cap team salary at $138.9MM. It appears Cook will be one of the odd men out.

Free Agent Rumors: Dudley, Beverley, McGee, Green

July 1st, 2019 at 12:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The new-look Nets may be close to bringing back one of their locker room leaders, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Jared Dudley is interested in signing up for another season in Brooklyn, a source tells Scotto.

Dudley, who will turn 34 next month, also contributed on the court in his first season with the Nets, averaging 4.9 PPG in 59 games and shooting 35% from 3-point range. Dudley is also drawing interest from the Pistons and met with Detroit officials today, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).

There’s more free agent news to pass along:

The Mavericks’ planned discussion with Patrick Beverley didn’t happen tonight, relays Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), who speculates that it was because of the team’s involvement in a three-way trade with the Heat and Sixers. Townsend adds that the Mavs’ chances of landing Beverley seem less likely than they were earlier.
Dallas is optimistic about reaching a deal with restricted free agent Maxi Kleber, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. He cites “productive discussions” between the Mavericks and the power forward/center.
JaVale McGee has a meeting set with the Pistons tomorrow, relays Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The free agent center talked to the Rockets today.
Danny Green spoke on his Instagram account about meeting with the Mavericks, Lakers and Clippers and Raptors, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. “Being patient, man,” he said of the process. “Being patient.”
The Wizards would still like to re-sign Tomas Satoransky, but are looking into other options at point guard, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Hughes states that they are interested in Quinn Cook and notes that Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported an inquiry about Cory Joseph.

Warriors Issue Qualifying Offer To Quinn Cook

June 29th, 2019 at 10:05am CST by marksuleymanov

The Warriors have issued a qualifying offer to point guard Quinn Cook, thus making him a restricted free agent, tweets Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Golden State wields Cook’s Early Bird rights with his cap hold being $1,931,189. Cook becomes the second Warriors player in as many days to enter restricted free agency as Golden State also issued a qualifying offer to Jordan Bell.

Cook, 26, appeared in a career-high 74 games (10 starts) for the Warriors during the 2018-19 season. As the primary backup to Stephen Curry, Cook averaged 6.9 PPG and 1.6 APG in 14.3 minutes per contest. Cook’s perimeter shooting is his signature, evidenced by his 40.5% mark from beyond the arc last season.

Cook figures to draw significant interest, as teams may try to put pressure on a Warriors team focused on its other free agents.

Western Notes: Cousins, Cook, Valanciunas, OKC

June 5th, 2019 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

While Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson have been the most-discussed free-agents-to-be on the Warriors‘ roster all season long, a handful of the club’s other players who are headed for the open market are seeing their stocks impacted by what they’re showing in the postseason.

As Marc Berman of The New York Post writes, DeMarcus Cousins is one of those players. When he tore his quad in the first round of the playoffs, he seemed unlikely to return into the fall, raising uncertainty about what sort of offers he could expect in free agency. However, Cousins helped key the Warriors’ Game 2 win on Sunday, and is now in position to take on an even more crucial role with Kevon Looney sidelined for the rest of the NBA Finals. Cousins could be earning himself some extra money with each game he plays this series.

Meanwhile, one of the Warriors’ most reliable contributors off the bench in Game 2 was Quinn Cook, who played 21 minutes and knocked down three big 3-pointers to help hold off the Raptors. After the game, Draymond Green referred to Cook as “our Patty Mills,” adding that the young guard “should be here for a long time” (Twitter link via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated).

The Warriors will have to decide in a few weeks how strongly they agree with Green, as Cook will be up for restricted free agency. Even if Golden State issues a qualifying offer to gain the right of first refusal on Cook, a rival suitor could swoop in with an offer sheet that the Warriors may be reluctant to match, given the luxury-tax implications.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Jonas Valanciunas once again stated this week that the Grizzlies‘ head coaching decision will play a part in his decision on his $17.6MM player option for 2019/20, as Lithuanian reporter Donatas Urbonas relays (via Twitter). “Deeper into the summer, we’ll have a better picture [of] who’s staying and what are the team’s plans,” Valanciunas said. “First, I want to see who’s the head coach. It’s gonna be a huge factor.”
With Darko Rajakovic prepared to head to Phoenix, the Thunder will have three openings to fill on Billy Donovan‘s staff, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Mark Bryant and Bob Beyer also accepted jobs with new teams.
Brett Dawson of The Athletic explores Patrick Patterson‘s outlook as the Thunder forward prepares to enter a contract year. Despite two up-and-down years in Oklahoma City and the possibility that he’ll be on the trade block, Patterson could be a rotation player if he returns, Dawson writes.
The Nuggets worked out six prospects at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday, bringing in Javon Bess (Saint Louis), Kavell Bigby-Williams (LSU), Jordan Davis (Northern Colorado), Justin James (Wyoming), Tanor Ngom (Ryerson), and Josh Reaves (Penn State), per a team release.

Klay Thompson Has Hamstring Strain, May Play Game 3

June 3rd, 2019 at 9:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors got some good news on the injury front Monday as an MRI confirmed that star shooting guard Klay Thompson has a mild hamstring strain, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Thompson will test out the injury over the next two days and likely be listed as questionable for Game 3 of The Finals on Wednesday night, Charania adds.

Thompson, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Game 2 on Sunday. His legs split apart while he attempted a 3-point shot. Toronto’s Danny Green contested the shot but no foul was called.

If he can’t play, the Warriors will likely lean on Shaun Livingston and Quinn Cook to assist Stephen Curry in the backcourt.

Golden State got some bad news Monday when forward Kevon Looney was diagnosed with a fractured collarbone. The Warriors still don’t know when superstar Kevin Durant will be able to return from his calf injury suffered during the conference semifinals. The prospect of playing without Durant and Thompson would be daunting as the series shifts to the West Coast and Oracle Arena.

Warriors Notes: Iguodala, Cook, Finals, Bogut

May 26th, 2019 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors have injury concerns heading into the NBA Finals, but Andre Iguodala doesn’t expect to be among them. The 35-year-old defensive specialist has missed practice the past three days to rest a sore left calf, but he tells Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News that he expects to be ready when the series opens Thursday.

“Just a lot of minutes and overuse. I’m old,” he said. “It just flared up real quick, but we have a good training staff. When you’ve been playing for five long seasons, it’s bound to come up. … My career is almost over, anyway. So I don’t really care.”

Iguodala wasn’t completely serious about the last part, as he has speculated about playing beyond the end of his current contract, which runs through next season. Head coach Steve Kerr has lightened the workload for his veteran forward, who had a non-invasive procedure on his left leg over the summer after being injured during last year’s playoffs.

There’s more Warriors news this morning:

Backup guard Quinn Cook has been able to succeed because he has a coach who understands his situation, Medina writes in a separate story. Kerr played the same role with the Bulls’ title teams in the 1990s and appreciates how difficult it is to stay sharp during long stretches on the bench. “There’s a real trick to maintaining confidence level, conditioning level, your rhythm, your timing through all those times you’re not in the rotation. It’s a very hard job,” Kerr said. “If you can do it you’ve got a place in the league for a long time because coaches really value that.”
This will be first NBA Finals with a greater focus on what happens in July rather than June, notes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. No matter who wins, the series will play out against a background of upcoming free agent decisions for the Warriors’ Kevin Durant and the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard.
Andrew Bogut is defending Durant amid negative fan reaction on social media, Medina tweets. “People criticize him for it bothering him,” Bogut said. “You know, he’s a human being just like anyone else, and I think he has a right to put comments forward, and he has a right to sign where he wants as a free agent. The whole point of free agency is the first word is ‘free,’ so if he wants to sign wherever he want to sign, it’s his decision.”

Warriors Notes: Cousins, Durant, Cook, Roster Spot

February 20th, 2019 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

For the first time since returning from an Achilles injury, Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins will be playing without a minutes restriction, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN. Cousins is averaging 23.4 minutes per night in 11 games and has rarely played more than 25 minutes. Coach Steve Kerr said game flow will determine how long Cousins is actually on the court, but there are no more medical restrictions.

“We’ll see how the games go,” Kerr said after today’s practice. “I don’t think we’ll change the plan too much in terms of how we’re going to play him in the rotations and all that, but I think once we get back into the rhythm we can absolutely play him for longer stretches, play him down the stretch if we like.”

He added that the plan was always to ease Cousins back into action for a month or so before unleashing him for full-time duty. The upcoming free agent has posted 13.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG in his limited playing time.

“He did a great job, DeMarcus did,” Kerr said. “So now we’re entering a different phase of the season. We’ll see how it goes, but nothing’s set in stone.”

There’s more Warriors news tonight:

Golden State officials are as uncertain as anyone about Kevin Durant‘s plans for free agency, writes Frank Isola of The Athletic. “We have no idea what he’s going to do,” a team source said. “Everyone wants him to stay. There’s not much more we can sell him on. If he leaves, we’ll think of it as being lucky to have him for three great years.”
No matter where Durant winds up, teammate Quinn Cook could be with him, suggests Marc Berman of The New York Post. Cook and Durant have been friends since their AAU days and may be a package deal in free agency. “Any time you get to play with one of your best friends at the highest level is obviously a great thing,’’ Cook said. “He helps me so much off the floor and even more on the floor. He gets me so many open shots. We have a great connection out there. We know each other. We’ve been playing together the past 10-plus years.”
Two-way player Damion Lee appears to be the favorite to fill the 15th roster spot before the playoffs, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The Warriors haven’t given up on Bulls center Robin Lopez, but he won’t be playoff eligible if he’s not bought out before March 1. Another center, such as ex-Clipper Marcin Gortat, is possible, but Slater states that Damian Jones could recover from a pectoral tear by May, which would provide backup help in the middle.