Ask a question: In the NBA, fame or money, which do you think is more important?
For talented players, such as James and Durant, they may care more about the evaluation of the outside world and hope to use a steady stream of honors to enhance their historical status;
And for those players with relatively average talent, it is perhaps more practical to make as much money as possible, such as Caruso;
Everyone is mortal, they are swayed by life, so are athletes, basketball used to be a dream, but now, it is just a tool for them to exchange for a better life, as for who to fight for, it does not seem to matter, so when Kevin Looney at the bottom has given up the opportunity of "carp jumping dragon gate" many times, many people have dropped their jaws and questioned whether his brain is rusty, but in today's league, Looney is the most transparent, the most wonderful, and at the same time the happiest player.
In the summer of 2018, he refused to pay high salaries
The regular season average of 4 points and 3 boards per game, there is indeed nothing to show off, but in the playoffs, Looney's performance is particularly eye-catching, especially in the Western Conference Finals, facing the powerful Rockets, Looney can always grab offensive rebounds from Capela, Tucker's head at key moments, in the case of scoring anxiety, the importance of an offensive rebound is self-evident, the whole series, he averaged less than 20 minutes per game, he can grab 2.9 offensive rebounds, ranking first in the team.
Offseason, there are many teams in the league that are interested in Looney, handing over contracts with annual salaries of more than 2.4 million, and the most important thing is that other teams can give him more room to grow than in the Warriors, but in the end, Looney still chooses to stay in the Warriors, although the latter only offers 1.6 million for 1 year.
In the summer of 2019, he again refused to pay high salaries
This season's Looney, play more stable, before Cousins returned, the Warriors' interior line has always been his guard, the average data per game has also increased to 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds, although the Warriors failed to defend the title, but in the playoffs, looney, who continues to evolve, still leaves a deep impression on many teams, averaging 7.1 points per game, can grab 4.5 rebounds, offensive rebounds 2.0, still the first in the team, shooting rate as high as 68.8%, is also the team's highest.
In the offseason, Looney received multiple offers again, generally around 20 million in 3 years, which is already a lot for a low-born role player, but as a result, Looney once again chose to stay in the Bay Area, renewing his contract for only 3 years and 15 million.
In the summer of 2021, he refused to pay high salaries again
2 years of lows, so that many people are no longer optimistic about the Warriors, rather than accompany this team to experience a long "reconstruction", it is better to leave early, however, in the face of many teams of poaching and pursuit, Looney is still not moved, he did not choose to jump out of the contract, but continue to advance and retreat with the Warriors.
Many people may think that a player like Looney, once he leaves the Warriors' system, will immediately find no direction, rather than staying in the Bay Area honestly.
But in fact, Looney is not a mediocre talent without talent, he just respects his heart and does not want to be kidnapped by profit and money.
In his final year of high school, Looney handed over a quasi-quadruple-double report card, averaging 27.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 8.0 blocks per game, leading the team to win the championship with an undefeated result, elected Mr. Wisconsin Basketball, and player of the year, ranking in the top 15 of the 14th national high school students, according to this trajectory, he only needs to choose a university that can make himself the main force, and he can stand out from the draft.
But guess what, Looney passed all the colleges that had a good feeling for him and chose UCLA, which did not give any promises, for the simple reason that as a fan of the Lakers and Kobe, Los Angeles was the place he had longed for since he was a child, and there was also a campus that he thought was the most beautiful.
Is it just like a joke, at UCLA, Looney also changed from the core of the ball to playing the blue-collar interior line, and the career trajectory directly reversed 180 degrees.
This may be Looney's attitude towards life, unlike other geniuses, who always want to prove themselves, but he is both at peace, accepting any role and obeying any order.
As for why not leave the Warriors, it is not as everyone speculates, thinking that once you leave Curry, leave the Warriors' system, he will have no ball to play like Cook, McKinney, in fact, with Looney's talent, if you go to other teams to play for about 30 minutes, averaging 10 + 10 per game, there is no difficulty at all, maybe you can also develop a three-point shooting, you know, in college, he is 45 shooting 20 shooting rate.
In the interview, Looney also explained the reason for staying with the Warriors, that is, he simply did not want to move, so the salary was less.