What to Expect from Kevon Looney

Let’s face it: the Golden State Warriors’ offseason has been eerily quiet. Capped out and faced with few options in free agency, the Warriors will be forced to restock their bench from within and find a replacement for David Lee, who is likely to be headed to the Boston Celtics any day now.

More from Warriors News

Fortunately for the Warriors, they might already have a replacement ready: the 30^th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft – Kevon Looney.

Many were surprised that Looney was available to the Warriors at the end of the Draft, but issues with his hip and back prevented many teams from taking a chance with the former UCLA star. The 19-year-old was open with his injury, declaring that he played his college season with it, went through the draft workouts with it, and is learning how to deal with it.

According to a NBA executive, Kevon Looney was red-flagged with a degenerative back as well as a hip issue. May require surgery down road.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 26, 2015

The Warriors could take the cautious road with Looney, and schedule him for surgery at the first sign of trouble. But will he even be a part of the rotation?

At 6’9”, Looney is likely to play the power forward position. With a 7’3” wingspan, he fits the Warriors’ defensive identity perfectly. He has average quickness and agility, which might hinder him against some of the league’s quicker wings if he switches onto them. He could also struggle against league power forwards, as he has a wiry frame and will need to undergo the routine rookie bulk-up before he is able to deal with bigger counterparts.

His defensive skills could be regarded as what swayed the Warriors to draft him. His long reach will allow him to contest shots and contain perimeter players. He displayed decent lateral quickness in college, but that will be tested when he goes against NBA-level athletes. His lack of strength was evident in the college – which will be a problem going up against the big boys of the league.

On offense, Looney showed some touch from the perimeter. He shot 41.5 percent from behind the arc in his lone collegiate season, but that comes with a small sample size (53 attempts). He shot 50 percent in the Las Vegas Summer League (3-of-6) from behind the arc, which once again comes with the caveat of a small sample size. The good news is that he was able to score freely, recording 9.3 points in 19.7 minutes each game. He shot 41 percent from the floor, which isn’t great, but could be worked on with the coaches.

The thing I love the most about Kevon Looney is his ability to clean up the boards. He was a terror on the offensive boards with UCLA, averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds per game. In Vegas, he had 4.2 offensive rebounds per game, and could help with the Warriors’ lack of offensive rebounds. His defensive rebounding game still needs some work (4.4 per game in Vegas), but he showed in college that he wasn’t shy running the fast break after gathering the rebound (another Warrior trait).

All in all, Looney is very much a project for the Warriors. With the big man rotation consisting of Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut, Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli, James Michael McAdoo, Ognjen Kuzmic, and Harrison Barnes (who plays the four in small-ball lineups), Looney might find cracking the rotation hard. It appears as though McAdoo, Kuzmic and Looney will all be battling for spot big man minutes (which might just be in garbage time), and McAdoo and Kuz have the edge based on their familiarity with the Warriors’ system.

Still, Looney is a very nice player. His wingspan, defense, rebounding, and floor-spacing ability are all valuable assets in the Warriors’ system. Warriors’ general manager Bob Myers admitted as much in an interview.

"“Drafting a player like Kevon who has a lot of different skill sets really speaks to the way we play, the way we want to play. He could be out there playing 5, the 4 or 3. That’s the way we think the NBA is trending, being able to employ multiple skill sets.”"

The likelihood is that Looney spends more time playing for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate, rather than the actual team. While that may sound unappealing, the Warriors have made it a point to promote from within – Kuzmic and McAdoo alternated between playing for both teams.

Fact is: Kevon Looney will be a long-term project for the Warriors, and won’t be seeing much playing time unless the team suffers as an injury to one of their big men.

More from Blue Man Hoop

Home/Warriors News