Kevon Looney became an incredibly valuable contributor to multiple playoff teams at the Golden State Warriors, but it was the gravity of Stephen Curry (and to a lesser extent Klay Thompson) that made the veteran center's combination with Draymond Green effective despite the pair's offensive limitations.
Looney is an excellent screen-setter and was able to use that skill for years as Curry ran off the ball. After a tough lone season in New Orleans, Looney will be hoping Luka Doncic can provide him a career lifeline and help rediscover the same level of impact he once delivered alongside Curry at the Warriors.
Luka Doncic gives Kevon Looney same lifeline Stephen Curry once did
Looney learned last season how difficult it can be not playing alongside Curry after a decade together, having appeared in just 21 games for the Pelicans where he struggled to make any impact and was largely out of the rotation.
Yet in signing a one-year, minimum contract with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer, Looney now gets to play next to another superstar guard in Doncic who's wizardry could allow the 30-year-old to revive his career.
Looney won't necessarily be setting off-ball screens like he did for Curry and Thompson at the Warriors, but he will be able to utilize that skillset in a more traditional sense when it comes to pick-and-roll situations.
"I'm excited to be on this team and be able to learn from him (Doncic) and be able to play pick and roll. ... He's probably the best pick and roll player in the league," Looney said in an exclusive interview with ESPN LA's Mason & Ireland.
Kevon Looney needs to be able to capitalize on Luka Doncic's playmaking
With Doncic regularly double-teamed on pick-and-rolls, Looney needs to find a way to capitalize on that by looking to score more than the 2.8 points he averaged with the Pelicans last season. Whether he can do that remains to be seen as an under the rim big man, and not one that's going to power up for emphatic finishes on the roll.
That's what makes Looney's fit a concern for many Lakers fans, particularly when he's one of only two bonafide centers on the roster behind injury-prone big man Walker Kessler. Without adding another big man, Los Angeles will be leaning on Looney in a dangerous way based on his recent form over the past two years.
Still, if Looney is to rediscover the sort of impact that made him a regular starter and 20+ minute per game player for the Warriors across multiple seasons, it's likely to be Doncic's brilliance that plays a big role in making that the case.
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