	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 24, 2018

Quinn Cook

Oakland, California

Q. Quinn, a year ago obviously you came here on a two-way, kind of went through last year, got signed to a full deal this year. I just was curious if you could kind of walk through what the process was like of being on a two-way and kind of that experience since it was the first year you were in and how it feels different to be here on a fully guaranteed deal?
QUINN COOK: Yeah, last year being a two-way for it being the first year the NBA used it, I didn't really know what to expect. The biggest thing with me coming here was just to learn. I wanted to be in a franchise. I knew the synergy between Golden State and Santa Cruz was great, just from playing against Santa Cruz and Golden State. I just wanted to learn as much as possible and stay ready, and obviously I wanted to show everybody that I didn't belong in the G-League, that I belonged in the NBA full time, and any time I got my opportunity up here, I wanted to be ready. I obviously didn't predict four of our All-Stars getting hurt and me playing 40 minutes at a time, but I took advantage of the opportunity. I was blessed to get signed full time, contribute in the Playoffs, and this has been the first summer and the first training camp where I came into something guaranteed. I've never been on anything guaranteed thus far.

So I slept a little better this summer, but I worked even harder, I worked smarter, and just learning from all these guys, vets in the locker room, has been a big plus for me, as well.

Q. I saw a post that you did this summer at some point of presenting a car to your mother I think it was. Could you take us through that, and just has this whole thing sunk in for you and your family of what you accomplished last year, and how special was that moment for you two?
QUINN COOK: Oh, it really hasn't sunk in. I'm just trying to stay in the moment. I'm not really trying to reflect or be satisfied of what I've done and where I'm at, obviously, because I'm not where I want to be.

But it's something that I've always wanted to do my whole life, do something special for my mom. My mom works two jobs. After I lost my father, she took on a major role for me and my sister, so last year, summer of 2017, I wanted to buy her a car, but I didn't know a lot about the credit and just a lot of stuff that I didn't know about, and I wanted to make it perfect, so obviously this year was perfect. We did it in front of my camp, all the campers got to see it, and I wanted to show the campers that you can do it. I'm a regular-sized kid from Maryland who's done some things in our community and been able to provide for my family, and I wanted to show the kids that. My mom would have been happy with anything I got her, and it went viral and everything, and I was happy that she was just extremely happy.

Q. You've kind of touched on it the first two questions, and I'm very familiar with your story and the grind that you've put in and all the uncertainty that came with some of your contract situation and going back and forth. This is your first summer where you said where you have some stability, but just following you along, it seems like you still have that worker's mentality and you still want to, I guess, prove that you do belong and that the Warriors didn't make a mistake giving you a guaranteed contract. Has that been the case for you?
QUINN COOK: I don't want to take this year and prove to everybody and prove to the Warriors that they made the right decision. I've always had the mindset that I've always been an NBA player, just the situation wasn't the right situation. A big thing for me was my peers, was the guys that I've looked up to in the league giving me that confidence, and any time that I got an opportunity in the NBA, I thought I took full advantage of it, and I showed everybody that I belonged full time. But it doesn't really happen like that in this business.

For me to land this opportunity, land this situation, I'm extremely blessed, extremely humbled, and like I said, this summer I've just worked extremely harder because I like the feeling of being here, getting the opportunity to play on the biggest stage, playing well, sitting next to all the guys in the locker room that I grew up watching, idolizing, guys that will be Hall-of-Famers, and I like to pick their brains. So for me to be here, I really haven't fathomed everything yet. I just -- it still seems surreal. But like I said, I'm not satisfied with where I want to be. I think I have a long way to go to get where I want to be, so I just want to keep getting better and keep learning.

Q. There was a moment where you won last June where Steve Kerr embraced you and he had some words for you. Can you talk about some of the things he said to you and what kind of motivation that is for you?
QUINN COOK: Yeah, that was a big-time moment for me. I was happy a camera was there to catch it. But Coach Kerr, he's like that all the time, from the top guy to the last guy. He makes us all feel part of the team. He makes us feel special. He cares about us as human beings before basketball players, and he knows my story. He lost his father, as well, at a young age, so we had that in common. You know, different dates will come up during the season, he will make sure I'll be okay, which meant a lot to me, so we've always had a great rapport, and he's a guy that I look up to NBA player wise -- not really a journeyman but six different NBA teams, a champion coach and player, so that's somebody that I've always idolized, and for him to say that at that moment meant a lot because he didn't have to do that. It was a lot more motivation just to keep working and keep getting better, to keep getting more.

Q. You talked before about how you never had a guaranteed deal before this summer, and I was curious as a guy who kind of had to fight your way into the league and having success with the two-way last year, do you think that has been a good development for the league, to have that spot available, or did you prefer it before when guys had the chance to kind of get called up to wherever if they were playing well down there?
QUINN COOK: I mean, I've been in the G-League where there was no two ways and there was two ways. Obviously I was on a two-way so it was a different situation for me. But I think it's good for the NBA to keep it. It keeps guys' dreams alive, and now the talks in the G-League are guys aren't just fighting for call-ups straight to the NBA, guys are fighting for two-way spots, as well, so it gives guys more motivation, it keeps guys here rather than going overseas. I think a lot of guys have probably turned down a lot of money to go overseas to stay in the G-League and in the NBA and take a two-way, and I think it's great. Obviously it worked out for me, so I appreciate it.

I think that if the two-way wasn't available last year, I don't know where my career would be at right now, but I think the timing was perfect, and I like the fact that they have the synergy between the G-League and the NBA.

Q. You've mentioned the uncertainties of your career and just how important the situation is for you. How much of a difference do you think it makes landing with a team like the Warriors, a winning organization, as opposed to any of the other 29 teams that you could have been with?
QUINN COOK: Yeah, like I said, I appreciate that element even more. I think that everything happens for a reason, and any time I got to a situation, got to a team, I would always feel like this was right, and I would feel like I would do anything in my power as a professional and as a teammate to meet and exceed expectations, being the first guy in the gym, being the first one off the bench, just having a relationship with all my guys, and any time I would get released, I never questioned it. I never got down. I never decided this might not be my career path. I just always looked in the mirror, what else do I need to do to make that next step, and getting cut from Atlanta was -- that was probably one of the lowest moments of my career, and then the next day, I signed with Golden State.

It's just, God is real. God is real, and I just appreciate what I've gone through to get here, and I appreciate that I'm here at Golden State.

Q. To add on to more on the G-League, can you just talk about obviously the environment that you had with those teammates that you had and the rapport that you had with them and being in the G-League?
QUINN COOK: Last year or my entire G-League career?

Q. Entire.
QUINN COOK: Yeah, I've been fortunate, man. I've been fortunate to be on two different teams starting in Canton with the Cavs' affiliate and here in Santa Cruz with obviously Golden State's affiliate. I never was on a team where guys were just trying to score, because you'll find teams where guys just want to get numbers, guys don't care about winning, they just want to get numbers to get called up. The two teams I've been on, we've wanted to play great basketball, we wanted to make other guys better, and last year is probably the most talent I've been around in the G-League last year, and my whole mindset was I wanted to dominate, anybody I played against I wanted to be the best player down there, and I think the last two years that I played in the G-League, I thought I was the best player by far, and I just wanted to prove it every night, every night, every night. I got my opportunity.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297