The Golden State Warriors are enjoying their hottest period of the season with an 11-4 record over the past 15 games, but the same can't be said for former center Kevon Looney whose career continues to take a downward trajectory at the New Orleans Pelicans.
With Sunday's DNP in a 119-110 loss to the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center, Looney has now played in only four of the Pelicans' last 19 games and appears well out of their plans going forward despite signing a two-year, $16 million contract during the offseason.
Kevon Looney desperately needs an opportunity to turn things around
After a preseason injury saw him miss the first five games, Looney became a core part of the rotation briefly where he averaged nearly 15 minutes over the next seven outings. Since then it's been a struggle for the veteran center to even get opportunity, something he wouldn't have envisioned when making the decision to depart the Warriors in free agency.
The Pelicans may not own their first-round pick this year, but they're still prioritizing youth and development. That means heavy minutes for impressive rookie big man Derik Queen, while second-year center Yves Missi and stretch big Karlo Matkovic have also been ahead of Looney in the rotation.
Looney's departure from Golden State almost felt inevitable given his diminishing role in Steve Kerr's rotation over the previous 18 months, having lost minutes to youngsters Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post. Even still, Looney's 4.5 points and 6.1 rebounds with the Warriors last season is notably higher than the 2.6 points and 5.0 rebounds he's posted in 16 games for the Pelicans.
The concern for the 3x champion -- and a forgotten element to his departure from the Bay -- is that his $8 million contract for next season is a team option. Based on the first-half of this season, it's impossible to see New Orleans picking that one up even if Looney is bringing impact as a veteran leader in the locker room.
The 29-year-old must be desperate for on-court opportunity, not only to make an impact and incentivize the Pelicans into picking up that option, but to advertize himself to prospective teams in the likely event that he once again enters free agency.
Would a team have interest in Looney on a minimum contract? If he can't get minutes on a team that holds the worst record in the entire league, that doesn't say much about his prospects going forward.