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GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 25, 2019

Quinn Cook

Oakland, California

Q. Obviously one of your great skills is that you're always ready. Where did you kind of learn that? Was there anyone that you talked to or has kind of been a model for that type of mentality for someone who plays a bench role?
QUINN COOK: Like I always PLAYED like powerhouse high schools, the best AAU team in my city, and at Duke. So in those situations I was always, I started at the bottom, so a lot of times I would lose my spot, I'm in high school or whatever, and I always just got to stay ready, I was taught that at a young age and when I got to the league I look at a guy like Jarrett Jack, that's kind of who I want to have a career like, just a great person, a great player, and respected by everybody.

Q. You guys are obviously both from the DC area, how long back do does your relationship go?
QUINN COOK: I was about eight years old, I met him when I was eight years old. His mom was running the tournament, he was my favorite player at the time, he was at Georgia Tech and his mom introduced me to him and he's been a monitor for me ever since.

Q. How much does it help that you have a coach who also was a bench guy, who was most of his career, to relate to you?
QUINN COOK: Great. I mean, he can relate to me. If I don't play well he'll text me, he knows what it's like if he goes a game -- because a lot of times you might get four games at most, so you can go 0-4 easily and feel down and you can go a couple games where you feel like you're not shooting the ball well but in three games you only shot the ball nine times. So it's easy for us to be down on ourselves and he's been perfect for me when that happens.

Q. What does he say in those situations?
QUINN COOK: Keep shooting, we all believe in you, the law of averages. And there was days where he didn't shoot the ball well, 0-3 or 1-6, but he kept believing in himself. So he's been perfect for me.

Q. When you missed that three in the Playoffs last year Steve was very adamant, like he deserved to be on the court in that moment, I trusted him. What did that mean for you to hear that?
QUINN COOK: I mean it meant the world for me. Just to be in the game, be in that situation, game five, tied 2-2 with the Rockets, my first playoff, my first playoff run, for him to have confidence in me did a lot for me. I didn't care if I air balled the shot, if I made it, just for him to have confidence in me, for Draymond to have confidence in me to shoot the ball. I remember Steph and K, right after the play, good shot, you're going to make the next one. Just stuff like that. It did wonders for me. So miss or make I took confidence from that opportunity.

Q. What have you been doing to kill all this time in between?
QUINN COOK: We have been in the gym a lot. Guys have been in here a lot, getting extra work in. We have been having some great practice, we had a scrimmage yesterday, watching a lot of basketball and I just been chilling, really, just been chilling.

Q. Have you been getting together with anybody to watch the other games?
QUINN COOK: Me and K watched the game, what was that Game Five? Game Five, the last one. So, yeah, I mean I probably go back over there tonight and watch the game, so...

Q. When you guys watch it what's the conversation like?
QUINN COOK: It's just basketball, like see how they're guarding this, see how -- I'm just learning, just learning. Obviously right now we don't know who we're going to play so we're kind of nitpicking both teams. So, but for me and him as well we just watched, just as fans of the game, honestly.

Q. You know him as well as anybody, how is he handling being off, trying to get back and become the focus if he will get back to this series?
QUINN COOK: It's not his first time being injured so I think he knows what to do. He's doing rehab twice a day, he's doing whatever it takes to get back as soon as possible. I think he's been a great leader for everyone, just his voice, just his presence. When we come in here you see him in here doing rehab and doing his stuff. He's trying as hard as he can to come back here, coming back at night, getting work in. So for me it's always good to see him being able, every day he's getting better, so we'll see what happens.

Q. At times have you kind of been pulled into the Durant free agency story line? The New York Press had a story how you could be key to Durant's free agency this summer and everything. How do you handle that, just knowing that there's going to be those stories and that line being drawn?
QUINN COOK: People have to talk about something, so I think that especially for a guy like that everybody wants to know what he's going to do. So for me I'm his brother, so we don't talk about none of that stuff. So I don't got nothing to do with none of that stuff. When people ask me, I don't know. I know he doesn't -- he just worries about getting better every day, coming in here and trying to win as many games as possible. So, I mean, whatever. Whatever happens, happens, I have no clue.

Q. You're not rooting for anyone, obviously, but would it easier on you guys, just for clarity sake, if Toronto was able to end it tonight so you know going forward or does it not really even make a difference?
QUINN COOK: Right now it's like three days left, if Milwaukee wins there's one more game, so I think we're kind of setting our minds on it's getting closer and closer. So we have plans for if it's Toronto and if it's Milwaukee, so we kind of know what's going on, so it doesn't hit us so fast. So whatever happens, happens, honestly. I think we're all confident and whoever we get, whoever wins, will have confidence as well. So it will be a great series either way.

Q. Do you guys have any, do you particularly have an anxious feeling of ready to get back out, because it's going to be nine days by the time you guys play Game 1?
QUINN COOK: Yeah, but I think guys are enjoying this rest. For our guys to get all the way healthy. We have been scrimmaging, we have been getting after it and today we had a really intense practice, which was good, so like it felt like we had a game yesterday and today, just how hard we have been going. So the rest has been good, but we have been getting after it.

Q. How have you seen KD be affected by the talk around him since he's been injured about how you guys play without him whether you're better or not?
QUINN COOK: I think for him he's been a superstar since he's got in the League so 2007? He's been in the League since 2007, so I think he's used to his name being at the headlines, people just talking on TV about him, everybody on Twitter, everybody just around basketball talking about him. So I think he's used to that. So I don't see no difference in him. I really think -- well I know his main focus is just coming in here and trying to win a championship. It sounds clichÃ© but that's really, he's a basketball savant, that's all he thinks about, he wants to come in here and master his craft, he watches basketball all day to get better and he is just focused on staying in the moment.

Q. Did you see him affected more by it, given that he seems to have responded more to these things this time around?
QUINN COOK: I mean, I think he just loves talking basketball, so he'll have conversations with people on the internet or our family members, stuff like that, when he's talking about, when he's just talking about basketball. And if you're not playing, you doing rehab all day, you're sitting down, you are on your phone, you're going to see certain stuff. And I think we all have the right to respond to anybody. We're all human, so, and we all have social media accounts, so I think that if anybody wants to talk about basketball, I think we should be able to conversate and talk about the game that we love.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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