Kevon Looney was left frustrated by the lack of faith shown in him by the Golden State Warriors towards the end of his tenure, but the veteran center's stint with the New Orleans Pelicans quickly proved the franchise right for moving on.
Looney failed to make much of an impact in his first year with the Pelicans, leaving his NBA career in real uncertainty not too long after being one of Golden State's most important players.
Kevon Looney's stint with the Pelicans has proven Warriors right
If we backtrack three years Looney was the Warriors' second-best player in a first-round playoff series victory, outplaying All-Star center Domantas Sabonis in a seven-game battle against the Sacramento Kings.
Even just two years ago Looney was coming off a season where he started 36 games for Golden State. Yet fast-forward to last year and the 3x NBA champion averaged just 10 minutes across 12 playoffs game, leading to some rare airing of grievance upon his departure from the Bay Area.
“We’re going up against Steven Adams -- those are the matchups I thrive in. But I wasn’t given the chance to do my job… Even in the playoffs, it felt like they didn’t trust me, and I really thought I had earned that trust," Looney said after leaving the Warriors.
Looney signed a two-year, $16 million contract (second year team option) with New Orleans after a decade with Golden State. It appeared like an inflated contract from the moment it was reported, and one that the Warriors were right not to match.
That's only been further proven from essentially the moment Looney stepped onto the floor for the Pelicans, having wound up largely out of their rotation and ultimately appearing in just 21 games with the franchise.
Warriors moved on from Kevon Looney at the right time
While Golden State will head into the offseason with some uncertainty over their center rotation, and though they're yet to solve the position from a long-term perspective, it's clear that Looney was no longer the answer.
They moved on from Looney and replaced him with Al Horford -- a better, albeit older player on a cheaper contract than what Looney got at the Pelicans. The season was ravaged by injury and failed to yield a playoff berth, but that specific move was undoubtedly a big tick.
With the Pelicans likely to decline Looney's team option for next season, the question now becomes where and what his next contract will look like as he looks to extend an 11-year career.
Add us as a preferred source on Google