The Lakers officially turned down Quinn Cook on Wednesday, meaning the team now has two open positions, and that it is far enough to add two players on veteran’s minimum bids for the rest of the season and the playoffs. Will the team do that? Almost certainly, but according to Frank Vogel, head coach, nothing is necessarily at hand.
“We will always look for opportunities to improve our team, but at the moment nothing concrete,” Vogel said before the team lost to the Jazz.
Vogel was specifically asked about the possibility that the Lakers could add players on 10-day contracts, something the team could do to essentially explore a few options for a lease before signing for the rest of the season. NBA teams can sign players up to 10-day offers twice during a season before deciding to let them go or sign them for the rest of the season.
A more likely option, however, could be for the Lakers to wait until closer to the March 25 deadline, when they try to sign a deal – something they say is up for discussion – or to try to sign players who are bought immediately. out, or trade and renounce. This will prevent the team from getting any immediate help as they try to survive the absence of Dennis Schröder and Anthony Davis, but Schröder will reportedly be back in their next game, and Davis will likely be back a bit after the All-Star break next. week. They don’t necessarily have to plug holes right away, and let’s be real: no player currently available helps make up for the absence anyway. Sorry, Dion Waiters. The Lakers are better off waiting, even if this losing streak has sucked.
But if you want something more specific than all that, Vogel is not your man. When pressed on the type of needs the Lakers want to address with possible additions to their team broadly, he concludes the question.
“We’re just looking at the players that are available. I am not going to discuss any type of needs that we discuss internally, ”Vogel said.
This is completely understandable, because the Lakers have no incentive to tilt their hand in public. However, this means that we will be in the dark for a while about their intentions. That said, while it would be foolish to assume that Lakers fans will be “at ease” at the moment – did you see social media and the comment section on this site during their current losing streak? – they should at least be aware that the Lakers got rid of Cook because they want to get better. This was clear when we listened to what Vogel had to say.
“He will definitely be missed. First, he is a basketball player. “We had depth in that position and that’s the only reason he did not come in, but I had a lot of confidence in his abilities,” Vogel said of Cook. ‘And he’s a ten out of ten cultures that fit our group. Understand his role, and you need guys like that. When filling out a roster, you need guys who are willing to not play but are still ready to contribute when your number is called, and he suggested it as well as possible.
“He has done an excellent job for us and we definitely wish him well.”
But the Lakers have not greeted as well as a teammate as in the NBA because they are happy with how they play. They wished Cook strength because they want to improve their basketball team for all the Vogel platitude. Though it is not yet clear how they are going to do it, they have at least made it clear that they are going to try.
Because the reality is that Cook was a friendship MVP. But as Kobe Bryant once said, “Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.” It is safe to say that his former agent and best friend Rob Pelinka, general manager of the Lakers, is well aware of the philosophy as he makes sure that this team makes the most of their chance to repeat.
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