Kings waive veterans Bazemore, Cook

The Sacramento Kings announced Thursday morning that they have waived forward Kent Bazemore and point guard Quinn Cook. The move trims down the team’s roster to 18 with one more cut expected before the October 17 deadline when rosters must be no more than 17, including two two-way players.

Bazemore, a 10-year NBA veteran appeared in two preseason games for Sacramento averaging four points in limited action. He was brought in for his leadership and defensive skills, but head coach Mike Brown must have felt others on the roster could supply those tangibles and Baze was caught up in a numbers game.

This was his second stint with the Kings. He played briefly with Sacramento after being acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers late in the 2019-20 season and averaged 10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 25 games that year.

He turned down an offer to return to the capital City fir the 2020-21 season and signed with the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers over the past two seasons.

Cook averaged 6.5 points in two preseason appearances for the Kings and was instrumental in securing the victory over the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night as he scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The 5-year NBA veteran has played for five different teams and collected two NBA Championship rings (2018 and 2020). He is well liked by players across the Association and was hoping to have another chance to get back into the league with Sacramento, but the strong play of veteran guard Mathew Dellavedova left no room on the squad for a fourth point guard.

The Kings are expected to make several more moves in the coming days to bolster their G-League squad by using the Exhibit 10 loophole to enhance the salaries of prospects who will play for head coach Bobby Jackson in Stockton this season.