Kevon Looney might be a 3x NBA champion with immense experience and leadership qualities, but the Los Angeles Lakers just failed franchise superstar Luka Doncic by signing the former Golden State Warriors center on Tuesday.
Looney has signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Lakers, having spent last season with the New Orleans Pelicans where he appeared in just 21 games following a decade-long career at the Warriors.
Lakers have failed Luka Doncic by signing Kevon Looney
Doncic went into free agency telling the Lakers that he wanted an A-List center, something they provided the Slovenian superstar by acquiring Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler in a blockbuster sign-and-trade last week.
Yet at the same time, Los Angeles have also seen their two primary centers from last season depart. Jaxson Hayes agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with the Jazz as they looked to fortify their big man rotation after losing Kessler, while former number one overall pick Deandre Ayton was quickly traded to the Washington Wizards after picking up his player option.
As much as acquiring Kessler is a major coup for the Lakers, Looney is quite clearly a downgrade from Ayton and Hayes in terms of a backup center option. While that may not be a huge concern right now, it could be thrust into the spotlight if Kessler ends up going down with injury after playing just five games in Utah last season.
Looney saw a host of DNPs in an underwhelming Pelicans center rotation, offering little optimism of his ability to be a quality backup center for the Lakers, let alone fill in for Kessler as a starter if required.
Kevon Looney is not a Luka Doncic-style center
The other issue here isn't just that Looney has struggled to make much impact in the league lately, but that he's the exact opposite type of center that Doncic generally likes to play alongside historically.
Doncic wants an athletic pick-and-roll threat and someone who can finish strongly at the rim, elements Looney doesn't really bring to the table. The 30-year-old is an excellent screen-setter, but that's usually been off the ball for the likes of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson rather than in a traditional on-ball sense.
Looney's strong rebounding is going to have to excel, otherwise there's too many offensive limitations there to suggest he can be not just a quality rotation big, but a viable teammate for Doncic when the two share the floor together.
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