Golden State Warriors: Damian Jones, Quinn Cook rejoin team vs. Bucks

Damian Jones and Quinn Cook rejoined the Golden State Warriors via the Santa Cruz Warriors ahead of the team’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors have been dealt a huge blow recently, losing superstar point guard Stephen Curry to a sprained right ankle. He reportedly sustained the injury by “slipping” in the team’s morning shootaround prior to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

While he was originally considered “questionable” ahead of Golden State’s road game against the Milwaukee Bucks, it was later announced that he would NOT be playing in Friday’s contest.

Per Warriors PR, Curry will be joined on the inactive list by Omri Casspi, who’s suffering from lower back soreness. Andre Iguodala (left knee soreness) and Shaun Livingston (left knee contusion) were originally listed as “probable,” but they will be available to play.

So with the injury list being as crowded as it is, it makes sense that the Warriors would call up their G League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors and ask that center Damian Jones and point guard Quinn Cook rejoin Golden State following the 2018 NBA G League Showcase in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

According to Dubs beat writer Connor Letorneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Cook will be available to play against the Bucks, while Jones will be inactive.

This makes sense considering the Warriors do not currently have an injury in their frontcourt, and Cook will likely be playing spot minutes to both fill in for Curry and to provide Livingston with some time to rest.

Appearing in 18 games for Santa Cruz, Cook is averaging 22.9 points (50.3 FG%, 42.7 3P%, 93.4 FT%), 5.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 36 minutes. He’s consistently proven to be one of the best players in the G League, supporting Golden State’s decision to sign him to a two-way contract.

Speculating, the addition of Jones probably foreshadows Steve Kerr‘s intent to rest one of his frontcourt players some time during this 5-game road trip. Were I to take a guess as to when this could happen, I’d assume this would happen against the Chicago Bulls.

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Jones has played 27 games for Sea Dubs this season on per game averages of 15.6 points (68.6 FG%), 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks.