According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Portland Trail Blazers have signed Quinn Cook to a non-guaranteed contract.
Cook is a 6’1″, 28-year-old point guard who played sparingly over 23 games for the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers last season. In 2019-20, he was a member of the champion Lakers team but didn’t play much in those playoffs and was famously left behind at the arena after the winning celebration ended. From 2017-19, Cook was a member of the Golden State Warriors winning a title with them during that time, as well as being a runner up in their Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Over the course of his 5-year NBA career, Cook has averages of 6.4 points per game, 1.6 assists per game, and 1.7 rebounds per game. His career shooting numbers are a respectable 46.1% FG%, 40.8% 3P%, and 79.5% FT%.
Cook joins Dennis Smith Jr, Marquese Chriss, and Patrick Patterson to battle in training camp for one, or possibly two, roster spots left for the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers have to sign at least one player to the actual roster to have the minimum of 14 players or could elect to have a full roster of 15 players and sign two players to the roster. The decision to sign one or two players will likely come down to how well those four players compete in their opportunity during preseason.
By opening up a competition in training camp, the Blazers appear to be making someone stand out and earn their spot on the roster rather than just signing them outright. It’s a strategy they haven’t employed recently, but with new Head Coach Chauncey Billups emphasizing effort, this approach should lead to some intense practices.
While Cook, Smith Jr, Chriss, and Patterson are not eligible for a two-way contract, the Blazers do have one spot remaining to sign someone with less than four years of experience in the NBA to their second two-way spot. They could also bring in a couple more veterans to increase the pool of players for those final roster spots. Training camp begins for the Blazers on Tuesday, September 28th, 2021.
