The Los Angeles Lakers are releasing fifth-year guard Quinn Cook, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Cook, a longtime Lakers fan who won a championship with the team last season, struggled to find a few minutes on a renewed rotation. The decision serves several purposes from a list-building perspective.
The decision to dismiss Cook will not cost Lakers any money from the point of view of the limit. His contract was unsecured, and the deadline for waiving such deals before securing them is Saturday, February 27. The Lakers have apparently decided that they prefer freedom by waiving Cook’s concessions rather than keeping him. They can exercise this freedom in a number of ways.
The simplest would be to simply sign another player. The Lakers are reportedly interested in bringing back DeMarcus Cousins, who was released by the Houston Rockets over the weekend. They could not have hired him immediately, because they are pressed against the rigid lid. By using the mid-level non-taxpayer exception (in Montrezl Harrell) and the biannual exception (in Wes Matthews) this off-season, the Lakers has pledged to remain below the $ 138.9 million hard limit for the entire season.
They cannot legally exceed it for any reason. With just over $ 138 million in wages on their books, they had less than $ 1 million to operate. They could not legally have hired another player until February 24, when the prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum would drop enough to fit into their space. Now, they can sign another player a little earlier. With Cook’s departure, they now have two empty slots to use in the procurement market. As long as they have 14 players when the dust settles, they are free to consider a variety of options.
One possible off-radar explanation for this move is that the Lakers wanted to free up money to use in a trade. With so little space under the rigid limit before dismissing Cook, they would have struggled to make an unbalanced trade from a limit perspective. Every penny counts, and now the Lakers could absorb a player who wins a little more than anyone who sent.
The Lakers have already lost three consecutive games without Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder, and it is becoming clear that their attack has flaws that need outside help. It is not yet known how Rob Pelinka will resolve these shortcomings, but renouncing Cook gives him the flexibility to do so as he sees fit.