Warriors GM explains decision to guarantee Looney contract originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Despite his diminished role in the Warriors’ rotation last season, it’s clear that center Kevon Looney is a key part of the team’s future plans.
After the Warriors secured Kevon Looney’s $8 million contract for the 2024-25 NBA season, general manager Mike Dunleavy highlighted the veteran veteran’s importance to the organization in a press conference on Monday.
“I think we really value him as a player, as a teammate, as a centerpiece of this organization,” Dunleavy said. while speaking to reporters ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft still this week. “So moving forward without him with nothing in return or moving forward without him and just not being able to fill that void just didn’t make a lot of sense to us.”
Looney averaged just 16.1 minutes per game last season — his lowest total since his injury-plagued 2019-20 campaign in which he played just 20 games. The 28-year-old saw his playing time especially decrease as the season progressed; His minutes have decreased to just 11.1 per game over the last 30 games in 2024.
Still, it’s clear that Looney has a huge impact on the Warriors, whether he’s on the field or not, thanks to his veteran leadership.
Even though the Warriors didn’t opt to release Looney to free up some salary cap space, Dunleavy seemed to leave the door open for a trade involving the big man in the coming months.
“We’ll see. As the clock ticks down to July and free agency, all the things are always on the table and available,” Dunleavy said. “But for now, we feel good about having him back and he’s a great component of this organization.”
In the meantime, it will be interesting to monitor Looney as a potential trade chip if the Warriors try to land another star (cough coughPaul George?) once NBA free agency begins next week.
