The NBA future of Golden State Warriors champion Kevon Looney remains uncertain after the New York Knicks went in a different direction to fill their backup center position in free agency.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania on Friday, the Knicks have signed veteran big man Andre Drummond to a one-year, $3.9 million deal after the 32-year-old spent the past two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Andre Drummond signing deals crushing blow to Kevon Looney
Having just lost Mitchell Robinson to the Boston Celtics shortly after their historic championship last month, the Knicks needed a replacement and were strongly linked to Looney given his ties to head coach Mike Brown who worked with the 3x champion as an assistant at the Warriors for six years.
Looney appeared destined for a move to New York, but the franchise has instead chosen Drummond who proved a far more impactful rotation player last season where he made 25 starts and averaged 19.5 minutes for the 76ers.
Free agent center Andre Drummond has agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million to sign with the New York Knicks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/VybK9XswUY
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2026
In stark contrast, Looney was out of the New Orleans Pelicans rotation for much of the season, appearing in just 21 games after leaving Golden State on a two-year, $16 million contract last year. That second year was a team option that the Pelicans unsurprisingly declined, leaving Looney to find another team in order to continue his 11-year NBA career.
This Drummond move deals a crushing blow to the 30-year-old and his hopes of securing another contract, with options potentially running out as we near the completion of the fourth day of free agency.
Lakers may now be the best option for Kevon Looney
One team now in need of a backup center is the Los Angeles Lakers after they traded former number one overall pick Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards earlier on Friday. The Lakers secured their starting center of the future earlier this week in acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz via sign-and-trade, but now face a lack of big man depth after trading Ayton.
In the wake of that move, Charania reported the Lakers are considering Looney, Jonas Valancuinas and Drummond. With the latter now off to the Knicks, Looney heading to Los Angeles now appears like a strong possibility.
Seeing Looney in a Lakers jersey would certainly be a strange sight after spending the first decade of his career at the Warriors, but it might be his only path to remaining in the league after the Knicks rejected him in favor of Drummond.
Add us as a preferred source on Google