Lakers' LeBron James doesn't want to rest
b"The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving fifth-year guard Quinn Cook, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. Cook, a lifelong Lakers fan who won a championship with the team last season, struggled to find any minutes in a revamped rotation. The decision serves multiple purposes from a roster-building perspective. \\n\\nThe decision to waive Cook will not cost the Lakers any money from a cap perspective. His contract was non-guaranteed, and the deadline to waive such deals before guaranteeing them is Saturday, Feb. 27. The Lakers have apparently decided that they prefer the freedom waiving Cook grants to keeping him. They can wield that freedom in a variety of ways. \\n\\nThe simplest would be to simply sign another player. The Lakers are reportedly interested in bringing back DeMarcus Cousins, who is being released by the Houston Rockets, per The Athletic's Shams Charania. They could not have immediately signed him, though, because they are pressed up against the hard cap. By using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (on Montrezl Harrell) and the bi-annual exception (on Wes Matthews) this offseason, the Lakers committed to remaining below the $138.9 million hard cap for the entire season."