Getty Kevin Durant #35 is helped to his feet by Klay Thompson #11 and Quinn Cook #4 of the Golden State Warriors after sustaining an injury against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
An old Golden State Warriors point guard is reuniting with one of his former coaches from the Bay Area on the roster of a Pacific Division rival.
Ex-Dubs point guard Quinn Cook inked a deal with the Sacramento Kings on August 8. Marc J. Spears of ESPN and Andscape broke the news via Twitter Monday.
“The Kings have agreed to sign NBA veteran Quinn Cook to a one-year contract, source told @espn @andscape,” Spears wrote. “The two-time NBA champion played for the G League Stockton Kings last season and is competing for a third point guard spot. Last played in the NBA for [Cleveland Cavaliers] 2020-21 season.”
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Quinn Played in Three Straight NBA Finals With Warriors, LA Lakers
GettyGolden State Warriors guards Steph Curry (left) and Quinn Cook (right) celebrate a play during Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
For a player who has been in and out of the NBA since he saw his first minutes back in the 2016-17 season, Cook’s playoff resumé is as distinguished as it is lengthy.
The point guard played in just 14 games in the league for the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans before catching on with Golden State. At that point, Quinn found himself teammates with modern basketball’s holy triumvirate of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green during the second of three Kevin Durant years in the Bay Area.
The Dubs went on to coast to a championship that season, the third of their dynasty. Cook remained with the team the following year, when the Toronto Raptors got the best of the Warriors following in-series injuries to both Durant and Thompson.
Golden State entered a period of basketball purgatory for two seasons following that NBA Finals, while Cook exited for Southern California and the Los Angeles Lakers. There, he teamed up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the fateful pandemic-shortened season. Cook played as part of “the bubble” title team that defeated the Miami Heat in six games.
During his time in Golden State, Cook appeared in 107 games and started 28 of those, playing 22.4 minutes per night his first year (2017-18) and 14.3 minutes per night he second year (2018-19), per Basketball Reference. He averaged 9.5 and 6.9 points, 2.5 and 2.1 rebounds, and 2.7 and 1.6 assists, respectively.
Cook Will Join Former Warriors Coach Mike Brown With Kings
GettyGolden State Warriors acting coach Mike Brown reacts during a playoff game against the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals.
When Cook arrives in Sacramento, there will be a familiar face from his Golden State days to greet him — new Kings head coach Mike Brown.
Part of the Warriors staff under head coach Steve Kerr for the previous six seasons, the Kings hired Brown during the playoffs to be their head coach beginning in 2022-23. Brown served as the head coach of the Cavaliers for a total of six seasons, with two years on the bench as the Lakers’ head man sandwiched between his fifth and sixth campaigns with the Cavs.
Brown was an assistant with the Dubs for both of Cook’s seasons in the Bay Area. The two will now team up to try and transform a Kings franchise that has not made the playoffs in 17 years.