Golden State Warriors in Contract Years: Quinn Cook
By Andrew Ites
After a breakout year, Quinn Cook will need to prove that he deserves to be a part of the Golden State Warriors’ future.
Quinn Cook was the ultimate feel-good story for the Golden State Warriors last season.
Coming into the league as an undrafted free agent, Cook bounced around a few different NBA teams’ G League affiliates before joining the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2017.
He tore it up in the G League last year and earned a spot on Golden State’s roster.
Cook was thrown into the fire as Steph Curry missed 31 games due to various injuries, and he performed admirably in filling the role of a two-time MVP.
The former Duke Blue Devil scored 9.5 points per game with 2.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per night with the defending champions. And he shot a scorching 44.2% from three on 3.2 attempts per game with a true shooting percentage of 59.3%.
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After Steph went down with an injury in March, Cook went on a fantastic run where he scored double-digits in 14 straight games, including five games with 20+ points and a career-high 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting while hitting all five of his three-pointers against the Bucks.
Quinn Cook is obviously not Steph Curry, but his skillset allowed the Warriors to run the same offense that they ran when their superstar point guard was on the floor.
Cook earned himself a contract upgrade based on his impressive performance.
Golden State terminated his two-way contract and signed him to a fully guaranteed NBA deal.
Cook will be paid about $1.5 million next season, and then he will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019 where his qualifying offer will be $1.9 million.
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If Cook backs up his breakout year with another strong run next season, there could be a solid market for him in restricted free agency. Most teams will have much more cap room than they had this past offseason, and nearly every squad could use a potentially elite shooter like Cook in their lineup.
Cook will be Steph Curry’s backup again this year, and he’s proven to be a reliable insurance plan if Steph’s ankles continue to give him issues.
I think the Warriors would love to keep Quinn Cook around with a multiyear deal as long as no one breaks the bank for him in restricted free agency next offseason.
Here’s our analysis of the other Warriors contract situations: