Thomas Campbell- USA TODAY Sports
Since being signed by the Chicago Bulls, Daequan Cook has seen no more than four minutes in the few games he has played in. I don’t understand why when his skill is what the Bulls need the most.
I get the fact that Cook needs to prove himself in practice and earn his minutes and coach Tom Thibodeau has verbally seconded that statement when he said that “[Cook] has to learn, get ready, and you never know over a course of a season; you need everybody.” But at the same time he said that, he also said that they (the Bulls) are “pretty much set with their rotations.” That’s the part I don’t understand. If you’re going to go out and sign this player to your team and then let him sit the bench for the rest of the season then why even sign him in the first place? In theory it’s so that Richard Hamilton has a back up shooter but didn’t Marco Belinelli fit that reservation? It seems that when discussing Cook’s future, neither the team nor the organization really knows what to do.
Cook is first and foremost a shooter, but he is also a very versatile player. At 6 foot 5 he can play both small forward and shooting guard and serve as a productive back up to Hamilton or Luol Deng. So if that’s the case then where are his minutes? Chicago sports one of the deepest benches in the league with the addition of Cook and not playing him is a problem especially since they rank last in three-pointers made and 18th in three-point percentage. Cook specializes in three-pointers and keeping him on the bench is like refusing to put out a fire with the water you have in your hand.
I’m all for rotations, and I completely understand the aspect of earning your minutes but seeing as though Chicago’s weakness is Cook’s strength you would think he would see more than two minutes a game right? I guess that isn’t the case. Cook has an open mind which is all you can ask for from the young guard but regardless of whether or not he is complacent with his current role doesn’t mean Chicago should be to. Cook is a shooter and Chicago needs a shooter to bring them out of last place in three-pointers made. Maybe if they made more three’s they wouldn’t have to take the Toronto Raptors to overtime and could maybe beat opponents like the Phoenix Suns or the Milwaukee Bucks. Who knows, but Chicago will never find out if they don’t start addressing their weakness now.
