The Golden State Warriors re-signed Kevin Looney after his 2019 playoff performances, becoming one of the few players on the team to have a non-base salary contract, and he is currently in the final year of the three-year, $15 million contract. While Looney's future may not be known, as it stands, he should continue to serve as the Warriors' starting center, even if second-year center James Wiseman's comeback is imminent.
Although Looney is only 2.06 meters tall, he plays on the inside, and his weight and width allow Looney to help his teammates make high-quality cover, while his extremely fast lateral movement ability allows him to switch against faster outside players. Especially in the 2019 playoffs against the Houston Rockets, Looney's successful change of defense for James Harden made the Warriors believe that he was an important part of the team's future plans.
While Looney has struggled with injuries and has been inconsistent in the starting lineup over the past few seasons, this season has been completely different, averaging 6.3 points per game, tying a career-high score. In addition, he can also average 7.6 rebounds per game, which is much higher than the previous career record of 5.3 rebounds, and the most important thing is his offensive rebounding ability, averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds per game also set a career high. And Looney has a high basketball IQ, and he knows his role on the offensive end of the team, which is very suitable for the Warriors' system.
For the Warriors, Looney should at least be the starting center at the end of the season. Last season's Warriors forced rookie Wiseman into the starting lineup, the final result was not good, and it is not yet known that Wiseman will return at a level, unless Wiseman can show super personal ability, otherwise he should continue to be Looney's replacement, after all, the latter's performance is far better than everyone expected. Wiseman is more of a scorer, and he can also support the second team with Jordan Poole, and in the longer term, the two can also grow and learn together, after all, they and Cumminga are the future of the Warriors.