Esteghlal in advanced talks to sign ex-Lakers star Cook: Report
Iranian top-flight basketball club Esteghlal is closing in on a deal to sign former NBA point guard Quinn Cook, according to Iranian sports news website Varzesh3.
Should the deal go through, the 32-year-old American will be part of the Tehran Blues for the Iranian Basketball Super League playoffs.
Esteghlal leads the 11-team table of the regular season with 11 wins from 14 games – level on 25 points with defending champion Shahrdari Gorgoan and third-placed Kaleh Amol.
Cook, who has been playing for Fujian Sturgeons in the Chinese Basketball Association since last March, is a former player of several NBA franchises, including Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, and Cleveland Cavaliers, winning the NBA title twice.
He was part of the Warriors’ team that defeated the Cavaliers 4-0 in the 2018 NBA Finals, before repeating the success two years later with the Lakers – alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis – thanks to a 4-2 victory over the Miami Heat.
“Cook is not just a deadly three-point marksman or a mere playmaker; he has a standout personality trait that is worth its weight in gold for Esteghlal – a team full of young players waiting for a spark to push them beyond their limits. In basketball circles, Cook is known as someone who transforms the locker-room atmosphere and is famously dubbed a ‘motivation bomb’,” Varzesh3 wrote of the American.
“He has previously shared the court with superstars such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry, and thanks to his distinctive character, he was considered a favorite teammate of theirs. Now, the presence of such a figure in Esteghlal’s locker room could be truly inspiring for young players hungry for a spark and a role model, lifting the team’s fighting spirit to its peak.”