Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons why Quinn Cook will be a key role player
By Robert Marvi
3. He’s a (really) good three-point shooter
The Lakers have not been good at hitting three-pointers in recent seasons. They finished next-to-last in three-point shooting percentage each of the last two seasons, and dead last in 2015-16. Last offseason they failed to address this weakness, but this offseason they have done a nice job of that.
They have added a bunch of guys via free agency this summer who can knock it down from downtown, and Cook may be the best of that lot.
In his three seasons he has a lifetime average of 41.8 percent from beyond the arc, and last season he shot 40.5 percent from deep for the Golden State Warriors. The year before that, he made an impressive 44.2 percent of his three-point attempts.
Even better, he is a relatively high-volume three-point shooter, as 43.6 percent of his shot attempts so far in his career have been three-pointers. This makes him a true three-point specialist, the likes of which the Lakers have desperately needed.
Cook is a nice underdog story, as he played at Duke University under Coach K and shot over 39 percent from downtown in two of his last three seasons there, but was undrafted. But he got his opportunity to prove he belonged in the NBA with Golden State, and perhaps he benefitted from playing with two of the greatest three-point shooters ever (Steph Curry and Klay Thompson).
He has proven to be something of a diamond in the rough and should continue to do so for the purple and gold, especially as they chase their 17th NBA championship banner.