The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to create more cap space with free agency officially opening on Friday.
Los Angeles waived Quinn Cook on Thursday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Cook had a non-guaranteed salary of $3 million for the 2020-21 season, receiving $1 million for getting waived, and the move frees up that space against the cap.
Cook played in 44 games for the Lakers, averaging 5.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in just over 11 minutes per game. He appeared in just six games during the playoffs.
The 27-year-old will be looking to join his fifth team in the last five years. Cook went undrafted out of Duke in 2015, and he bounced around the G League and played sparingly in “cup of coffee” stints with both the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans.
However, Cook eventually stuck with the Warriors. He actually started 18 games during the 2017-18 season when Stephen Curry dealt with some injuries, and played in 17 playoff games for the Dubs en route to their second consecutive title.
Cook was a regular rotation player again the next season, and actually provided the occasional flurry of bench scoring during Golden State's run to a fifth consecutive NBA Finals berth.
The Lakers signed Cook last year, and the Washington, D.C. native won his second ring in the process. But L.A. is parting with Cook to create that added cap.
Los Angeles needs to re-sign Anthony Davis in unrestricted free agency, and both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Avery Bradley are entering the open market. The business of basketball can be cruel, but the Lakers need every penny especially if they hope to re-sign one or both of KCP and Bradley, making Cook more expendable on a non-guaranteed deal.