Recently, Anthony Slater of the Warriors reported that all indications are that the Warriors will guarantee center Kevon Looney's $8 million contract for next season after Tuesday.
It is reported that Looney has been with the Warriors for nine seasons so far. Of his $8 million contract for next season, only $3 million is guaranteed, with the remaining $5 million guaranteed by a deadline next Tuesday, meaning he could be gone.
But sources say it wasn't the Warriors' plan. They want to convert Looney's remaining $8 million contract into a guaranteed contract to keep him in their current plans, although it is still possible that they could eventually use his salary to help complete the offseason trade.
The hard-working Looney
Looney's earlier in high school was not a center. Previously, he had excellent face-frame singles skills, but due to a hip injury, he was at the mercy of the coaching staff after entering the NCAA to play center. In 2015, Looney played in 36 games for UCLA, averaging 11.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, helping the team reach the NCAA round of 16 and was named to the All-Rookie Team and the PAC-12 All-NBA Second Team.
In the 2015 draft, Looney was picked with the 30th pick in the first round.
You must know that Looney, who averaged 27.9 points, 12.7 rebounds and 7 assists per game in high school, was considered to be Kevin Durant as the best forward player in the draft at that time. But plagued by injuries, he can only save the country, although the 30th pick is quite different from the expected himself, but at least he entered the league.
If Looney was a hitchhiker in the first two championships, then in the 22-year championship, Looney really made countless people cry.
On 5/14/22, in the Warriors' 110-96 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, Kevon Looney started 35 minutes, scoring 4 points, 22 rebounds and 5 assists, setting a new single-game rebounding high in his NBA career playoffs. Single-handedly, against Adams, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zaire Williams, Grandpa Lu worked hard.
In the 23 G5 battle, the Warriors beat the Kings away, Looney got 4 points, 22 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 block, and scored less than 5 points in a single game for the third time in the playoffs but got 20+ rebounds and 5+ assists. In the G7 life-and-death battle, the Warriors defeated the Kings, scoring 11 points, 21 rebounds and 4 assists, becoming the first player in the league to have 20+ rebounds in a single game in a single round series in the playoffs since 2008.
In the first round of the playoffs, Kevon Looney played in seven games, averaging 30.1 minutes per game, contributing 6.9 points, 15.1 rebounds (5.3 front boards) and 4.3 assists. But unfortunately, in the 23 playoffs, the Warriors lost to the Lakers 2-4 and stopped in the second round.
Last season, Looney maintained a full attendance in 82 games, averaging 23.8 minutes per game, and could deliver 7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.6 blocks, shooting 63.0% from the field and 60.6% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, he averaged 6.5 points, 13.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
In March of this year, the Warriors lost to the Bulls, and Looney failed to play; With that, Looney's record of 290 consecutive games was ended.
Cole didn't give it a chance
22 years later, Looney chose to gain weight in order for the Warriors to be able to compete with big-sized centers on the inside. Although the rebounding guarantee has been strengthened, Looney has also gained weight, which has caused his pace to be slow. used to be able to prevent small people, but now it has become the target of the opponent's focus. After the arrival of TJD, Kerr gradually reduced Looney's playing time, and now he can't even play in the rotation. As Curry's right-hand man, Looney deserves to stay.