The Portland Trail Blazers are signing guard Javonte Cooke to a two-way NBA contract, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. This comes just shortly after the Blazers waived Cooke, which set them up to sign him to this new deal. Now, with just days to go until the start of the 2025-26 season, the Blazers finally have all three of their two-way contracts accounted for. Cooke will be joining Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko, as Portland decides to have three guards fill out their two-way spots.
Cooke, 26, spent three seasons in the G League with the Iowa Wolves and Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 44/35/70 shooting splits during that stretch. He was undrafted out of Winston-Salem State in 2023, which Charania notes makes him the second active player in the NBA to have spent four years at a Division II program.
Blazers continue to address lack of backcourt depth
It's a rare and impressive leap for Cooke to make. It also wasn't guaranteed, as he averaged just 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game throughout the Blazers' preseason. But between the additions of Love, Cissoko, and now Cooke, it's clear that Blazers general manager Joe Cronin is trying to address Portland's lack of backcourt depth in the aggregate.
This offseason, Portland swapped Anfernee Simons for Jrue Holiday. They also moved on from Dalano Banton, who was recently waived by the Dallas Mavericks. Damian Lillard's return should eventually help address their backcourt depth, but he's also expected to sit out the entirety of the 2025-26 season. With Holiday and Lillard both being 35 years old, Portland also needs to think about the future and who will be around to spell the likes of Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
Blake Wesley was one under-the-radar addition this offseason, who is a great fit on the defensive end for what Chauncey Billups and the Blazers are hoping to accomplish. Still, it's clear that Portland still needs more help in both the short and long term. Not only is Lillard out this season, but Henderson is also expected to miss the start of the season as he recovers from a left hamstring tear.
While additions like Cooke likely won't make an immediate impact even with Henderson's injury, it can't hurt that Portland is adding as many low-cost options as possible as they continue to figure out what the ideal backcourt rotation is going forward.