Two former Warriors favorites cut by the Blazers

Former Golden State Warriors starting center Marquese Chriss and two-time NBA champion Quinn Cook were among the final roster cuts for the Portland Trail Blazers, after the team decided to go with only 14 players.

Chriss saw time in all four of the Blazers’ preseason games, playing 13 minutes per game and averaging 4.8 points, along with three rebounds and a steal. Portland decided to go with only two centers, even with Cody Zeller sidelined by a broken nose. Cook was more of a longshot to make the roster, only getting into two preseason games and scoring only seven total points for Portland, who isn’t lacking for shoot-first undersized guards. They also might resent him for shooting 50% against them in the 2019 Western Conference Finals.

One of the few bright spots for the Warriors in 2019-20, Chriss made the team after an impressive training camp. He was the No. 8 pick in the 2016 draft as an 18-year-old, and was named to the All-Rookie second team, but never found success in Phoenix. Chriss started 21 games in his first year on the team. Last year, he was poised for regular minutes as a backup big man before he broke his fibula during practice, two games into the season. Although it’s his sixth NBA season, he’s still only 24, so this shouldn’t be the end of the line for Chriss.

Quinn Cook signed a two-way deal with the Warriors in 2018 after being one of the final training camp cuts, but got a great deal of playing time after Steph Curry’s knee and ankle injuries. Cook scored in double figures for 14 games in a row, including a three-game stretch where he averaged 24.3 points per game. He averaged 6.9 PPG (nice!) with the 2018-19 team, then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and won a ring as their third-string point guard in the Bubble Finals. Last year Cook had brief stints with both the Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Given the Warriors’ lack of big men and Chriss’ familiarity with the system, Quese is a longshot possibility for the 15th roster spot. Cook’s skills are more redundant given the team’s abundance of shooting, but teams looking for scoring and championship pedigree could do worse than Cook.