Unpopular opinion, Brantley will have more nba success moving forward.

They have Cooks listed at Guard, thats tough if he cant shoot. Hopefully these guys can make something of their time. I see this is Brantley's 2nd time with the Jazz so they like something they see.

ESPN has Cooks listed as 83kg, that can't be right.

He was probably 83kgs when he left college...

Brantley may have more success than Cooks, who knows - offensively he's got a more prototypical NBA game than Cooks. Cooks in the NBA is like a chemistry experiment for me - very few times have we seen an Aussie go straight to the NBA after a dominant NBL season to allow a sort of comparison between to the two leagues. Jock Landale most recently did and it took him a bit of time but he's carved out a nice role for himself - I was doubtful with how poorly he defended the perimeter here in Australia, but at the end of the day there is such a difference between how basketball is played in the two leagues that it's very tough to know how a guy's game will translate.

Brantley improved his 3 range when he was here. Cooks can't shoot to save himself. I think if Cooks could shoot the 3 at 35% he’s an NBA player with his energy levels, defence and rebounding.

This is incorrect.
Over his 4 years at College, 1 year in Germany and 4 with Sydney Cooks 3Pt% is 34.55% for his career!
Save your self by doing some homework.

For his size Cooks is an above average defender, ball handler, passer and FG% is exceptional, he rarely takes bad shots and always makes the right pass, he's not a player who needs the ball to impact the game. Coaches love having these players, they're much rarer than you think.

The next 12 games (I hear Kuzma is out with an ankle) he will get plenty of time to show what he can do.

Utilising the Wizards coaching staff he will work relentlessly on his outside shooting to get the extra 0.45% he needs to get to your 35% :)

Cooks doesn't attempt 3's because he knows he can't shoot. He averaged 0.8 3FGA per game this season at 32.1%. For starters 32% isn't good and more importantly less than one attempt per game isn't even worth mentioning. In the pre-season games he was attempting 3.0 3FGA attempts per game, shooting 11.1%. That's why he doesn't shoot them.

Anyway a much better indicator of his lack of shooting ability is his 55% from the FT line this season.

Add the extra distance of the NBA 3 point line and the dude could be in some trouble

My prediction is Cooks and Brantley will end up more like Mitch Creek and Jack White, than Torrey Craig or Jock Landale.

Brantley doesn't have the ball handling and shooting to play 3, and he lacks the power and explosiveness to play undersized 4 in the NBA.

Cooks has been discussed before but essentially, needs to shoot better. He's solid in other areas of the game, but not sufficiently great to cover his shooting weakness.

Shooting is and always will be the number one most important skill in basketball. Of course there's plenty of great players who impact the game in other areas. Cooks has done that at the NBL level, but I'm skeptical of his ability to translate that to NBA.

Giddey used to struggle with 3 point shooting and now he can knock them down on a regular basis, which means if Cooks gets into the gym he could achieve that too. He is a smart fella and probably he didn't need to work on it in the NBL as he knew he could get away with other advantages, but the NBA a different beast altogether.

Giddey's just 20 years old, Cooks is 27. As much as I would like to see Cooks develop a reliable jump shot I think the time for that might have passed. Probably best to hone and work on his strengths after all that's what got him to the NBA not his shooting ability.

He will be forced to practise shooting unlike Sydney.

Cooks could develop a jump shot but it would mean a total rebuild of what his action is now. There is a reason he doesn't shoot jumpers and he’s a 50% free throw shooter, his action is poor. He certainly won’t be forced to practice while the season happening, he’ll be to busy with travel and recovery, nba teams train very little during the season.

I find it funny that Cooks was supposedly not fit during the NBL finals but can just walk into and onto an NBA court what 3 days after the NBL Championship series is over.

Agree, Sebastian - obv good injury management

Wizards head coach Wes Unseld, Jr. on Cooks:

"Another guy with size and athleticism. He's got the versatility, I think, to defend multiple positions," Unseld Jr. explained. "He has energy, a lot of the intangibles. A lot of times when you need a shot in the arm, you want a guy who can get to those 50-50 balls. He's a dynamic roller, an underrated playmaker in the pocket."

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/xavier-cooks-ready-help-wizards-after-whirlwind-road-nba

I should add I'm old enough to remember when Wes' father coached a 28 year old Aussie rookie called Andrew Gaze at Washington.

Agreed that Cooks NBA trajectory will mirror Creeks. Doesn't do one thing extremely well that can keep him in league. Ingles IQ with his defence and shit have given him a long career, but was probably given a chance in a small way to keep Exum company.
Good on Cooks for making it, but with the tail end of the season will probably just be a good guy to have on roster potentially for next year.
Brantley may earn a spot, Utah looking to tank for a few years as well as having all those picks. If he plays a decent role from now till summer league might pick up a nice little contract.

Agree with LV also re Cooks/Creek comp.

Hope Cooks proves us wrong though, another Aussie embedded in an NBA rotation would be a bloody ripper.

Cooks got more length, better defensively and more athletic than Creek. I'm certainly not ruling Cooks out of being successful.

Agree Cooks has got a lot more going for him NBA wise than Creek ever did.

It seems Cooks has a guaranteed contract for the next 2 seasons, plus 1 year team option. Quite different to Creek's 10-day contracts

Yeah Cooks may not end up a consistent rotation guy for 3+ seasons, but he'll get ample opportunity if nothing else. If Creek had Cooks' height and length he'd likely still be in the US.

Lets just hope Cooks doesn't get Dellavedova's shooting coach.

Xavier Cooks can be a Jarred Vanderbilt type of player for a team. Vando isn't a good shooter but he does everything else on an NBA floor that contributes to winning. Cooks can be that type of player for an NBA team easily with the opportunity

Wonder if there was an opportunity for Cooks to go to Thunder? They have Chip - the best shooting coach in the history of the game!

Excuse my optimism but I have confidence that Cooks will improve his shot and be a useful competitor in the NBA for more than the minimum term of his contract. Simmons may have more athletic ability but I think Cooks has more of the all-round skills and mentality to succeed over there.