As the time of year where the buyout market starts to heat up is almost here, the Chicago Bulls might actually be a player in it this time around. But one player that was recently waived around the NBA landscape that could be a good fit with the Bulls is the now former Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors sharpshooting guard Quinn Cook.
The Lakers made it official on Feb. 24 that they would be waiving the four year vet and two-time NBA Champion Cook. The former Duke Blue Devils guard, who was actually having a decent season with the Lakers in limited action thus far, is going to be one of the bigger names available on the free agent market at this point of the 2020-21 campaign.
As the 10-day contract window opens, and the All-Star Break is about to begin, roster movement is going to start to become more and more common. The trade deadline also isn’t that far out, looming large for March 25.
OFFICIAL: The Lakers have requested waivers on Quinn Cook.https://t.co/3M50t7czA8
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 24, 2021
With all of this lying in the near future for the Bulls, could they get ahead of the game by filling out their roster with an addition like Cook?
What Cook could bring for the Chicago Bulls
Given how well the Bulls backcourt rotation has played of late, the need to add another sharpshooting guard doesn’t stick out as much as it once did. Star Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine just got his first career All-Star nod, announced on the night of Feb. 23, so he’s leading the way for this group.
Not to mention the likes of second-year point guard Coby White, combo guard/wing Tomas Satoransky, and shooting guard/wing Denzel Valentine, who are all playing much better of late. But the Bulls have also seen the play of veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple slip up a bit in recent games.
If there was one player that Cook would be able to compete with for time in the rotation at the moment, it would be Temple. The Bulls also have the roster room to buyout the likes of big men Cristiano Felicio and Luke Kornet, if the front office felt that was the right move going forward.
Once the All-Star Break is over, and if fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen is healthy and ready to go after suffering a shoulder injury earlier this month, then buying out one of those two aforementioned big men for Cook makes sense. But that seems to be about the only plausible scenario in this discussion.
The Bulls are getting good enough play out of their backcourt, in the starting five and off the bench, that making room on the roster for Cook just wouldn’t do much good at the outset.
The only other imaginable reason at the moment as to why the Bulls would want to sign Cook is to get another more experienced voice in the locker room that has undergone a good bit of playoff success. Cook has more rings than any other player on the current Bulls roster. And that would certainly be a valuable presence to bring for this team.
Cook didn’t play much for the Lakers this season before getting waived. He did play in 16 games for the Lakers this season while averaging 2.1 points per game, 0.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And he shot 46.2 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line.