Pistons to sign forward Tyler Cook for rest of season

Detroit News

It didn’t take long for Tyler Cook to make an impression on the Pistons.

Cook has been with the Pistons for a couple of weeks, on a pair of 10-day contracts, and impressed the team so much that he will sign a standard contract for the remainder of this season, a league source told The Detroit News on Tuesday.

The deal also has a nonguaranteed option for next season, which will give Cook an opportunity to with the Pistons during the offseason and potential as a part of the Summer League team.

Cook, 23, a 6-foot-8 forward, fills the last open roster spot that the Pistons have for this season. He has shown his skill and versatility in 10 games with the Pistons this season. He had a career-best nine points and added three rebounds and two assists in Monday’s win at Oklahoma City. He’s averaging 3.7 points and 3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes and has been a solid addition to the roster, after playing four games with the Brooklyn Nets early this season.

Cook made an impression on coach Dwane Casey early in his time in Detroit and has continued his improvement each game, earning Casey’s hearty endorsement.

“He’s an interesting guy. I don’t know what we can do with him contractually, but I’d love to keep him around as much as we can. He’s one of those guys you want to keep in your program because he gives you everything,” Casey said last week. “He can play power forward or center; he’s smart and he picks things up quickly and he’s physical and athletic. He’s still working on his shooting, but everything else, he brings it to the table — and then some.

“To his credit, he’s picked up everything we’ve done, and that’s one of the reasons why he’s ahead of the curve and we feel comfortable putting him in the game.”

In his time with the Pistons so far, he has taken some of the minutes that looked to be earmarked for Sekou Doumbouya, the Pistons’ first-round pick in 2019. In the final part of the season, the Pistons are evaluating their young players, and there could be room for both of them on the roster.

“You look for the effort level — that’s the most important thing. Communication and how quickly they pick up things,” Casey said last week. “A lot of 10-day guys I’ve had over the years come in and it takes them 10 days to pick up what you’re doing. The quicker you can come in and study the film, study practice, study the schemes and terminology and pick it up, the more successful you’re going to be on the court.”

rod.beard@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard

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