Former Hawkeye Tyler Cook finishes his second NBA season strong

Tyler Cook is going on vacation Thursday, to the ocean and sunshine of southern California.

The former Iowa Hawkeyes player is ready for his first real step away from basketball since he left the Hawkeyes in the spring of 2019 after his junior season. In that time he …

Went to training camp with the Denver Nuggets, was cut, signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, divided time between the Cavs and their Canton G League team, was cut, signed with Oklahoma City’s G League team, then re-signed with the Nuggets when the NBA restarted its season last summer in the Orlando, Fla., bubble. Then …

He went to fall training camp with the Minnesota Timberwolves, was cut, went to the G League bubble in Orlando last winter with the Timberwolves’ Iowa team, signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets, was let go, had two 10-day contracts with the Detroit Pistons, and …

Cook was signed by the Pistons for the rest of the season. He averaged 11.8 points and 6 rebounds in the season’s last four games.

“It’s been a very hectic and eventful season for me,” Cook said. “I feel like I’ve played for half the teams in the league so far.”

He doesn’t have anything guaranteed for next season, but he’s a Piston for now.

“He gives you everything,” Pistons Coach Dwane Casey said early in Cook’s time with the team. “He’s smart. He picks up stuff quick, he’s physical, he’s athletic.

“I’m high on Tyler Cook.”

Cook had spent 85 days in the NBA’s Orlando bubble last summer with the Nuggets, but played in just two regular-season games and a few minutes of one playoff contest.

“I was kind of just sitting there for three months,” he said. “A lot of games I was inactive. It was hard on everybody, but for me to not even have a game to really focus on and distract myself, that was tough.”

Cook went to camp with Minnesota last fall, but the Timberwolves didn’t have a roster spot for him. He said he wasn’t excited about going into another Orlando bubble, in February with the G-League’s Iowa Wolves. It turned out to be a great career move.

“What I set out to do was perform to the best of my ability and get out of there as quick as possible,” he said.

That, he did. Cook averaged 20.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists over eight games.

“I loved that team,” he said. “I had a great time with them. My coaches were awesome. They did everything I could ask for and more.”

After a G League night game, Cook headed to his room around 11:30 when his agent called to tell him he was joining the Nets on a 10-day contract.

“I never packed so fast in my life,” Cook half-joked. “I was ready to go by midnight.”

Suddenly, Cook was in Brooklyn on a team with NBA superstars Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. For 10 days. The Pistons had let forward Blake Griffin out of his contract, the Nets signed the six-time NBA All-Star, and Cook wasn’t re-signed after his 10 days elapsed.

So who had a frontcourt opening? The Pistons, of course. It was sort of a trade. Blake Griffin for Tyler Cook.

“Without me making his money,” Cook said with a laugh.

Casey took a quick liking to Cook’s energy, aggressiveness on the court, and basketball intellect.

“Thankfully, I was able to kind of make a decent impression my first 10 days,” Cook said. “They gave me the second (10-day contract), and I did the same thing. They put me on paper for a little while longer.”

Because of injuries to teammates, Cook played a lot of the 4 (power forward) position and even 5 (center) in the season’s final games. His last impressions were good ones, including a 17-point effort against Denver last Friday. He will rejoin the Pistons this summer for offseason activities.

“I’ll just do what I’ve done to get here, which is work really hard on being the best version of myself I can be,” Cook said, “continuing to improve in every area of my game, just prove to them that I’m somebody they should want on their team for the future.

“It’s been a journey, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

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