The Portland Trail Blazers are waiving two-way contract guard Javonte Cooke, a league source told Blazer’s Edge on Monday. The decision coincides with the Blazers agreeing to sign guard Chris Youngblood to a two-way deal earlier in the day, a move reported by The Oregonian and other outlets.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto first reported the news about Cooke.
Cooke, 26, signed a two-way contract with the Blazers just before the start of the regular season in October. The 6-foot-6 guard played sparingly
for the Blazers, averaging just 1.2 points and 4.9 minutes per game over 19 appearances.
Cooke received much more run with Portland’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix. In seven regular-season appearances with the club, he averaged 23 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 43.9% from the field and 35.4% on 3-pointers. Cooke also appeared in eight games for the Remix during the G League Tip-Off Tournament, averaging 22 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.
Cooke played collegiately at Winston-Salem State and Mars Hill University before going undrafted. He began his professional career with the G League’s Iowa Wolves in 2022, playing two seasons with the Wolves and then spending the 2024-25 season with the Oklahoma City Blue.
The Blazers’ decision to waive Cooke and sign Youngblood means Portland has one two-way spot still available. Guard Caleb Love occupies the other two-way spot, but he has just five games left on the active roster before he hits the 50-game NBA limit. Blazers forward Sidy Cissoko, who began the season on a two-way deal, had his deal converted to a standard NBA contract in February. With two two-way guys and 15 players on standard contracts, Portland’s roster now features 17 players.
Wednesday marks the NBA deadline for signing players to two-way deals, so if the Blazers want to fill that last slot, they’ll have to move fast.
