Kevon Looney is the only confirmed departure from the Golden State Warriors so far in free agency, having signed a two-year, $16 million deal to join former teammate Jordan Poole at the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Warriors were never going to match anywhere near that offer, having come to the realization that Looney's limited offense and declining role in the rotation needed to be replaced with a veteran stretch five.
As good as it is that Looney was able to go out and get another reasonable multi-year contract, it is intriguing that it was the Pelicans that gave it to him given they're likely to now run into a similar problem the Warriors previously faced.
A lack of front court shooting could limit Kevon Looney's impact again
New Orleans are still built around former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, yet their inability to pair the 6'6" forward with a floor-spacing big man is an ongoing concern. Williamson is an interior downhill force in much the same vein as Giannis Antetokounmpo, having averaged just 0.5 3-point attempts per game for his career.
But instead of having Brook Lopez or a now Myles Turner-type center like the Bucks have paired with Antetokounmpo, the Pelicans have quite the opposite in terms of their big men. Yves Missi was one of the few positives for the franchise last season, yet took a grand total of one 3-point attempt in his 73-game rookie year.
Before acquiring Looney, New Orleans made a notable trade in the first-round of the draft to move up and take 6'10" center Derik Queen 13th overall. The 20-year-old shot 20% on one 3-point attempt per game in college, and has now taken two attempts over his first two summer league games.
Williamson, Missi, Queen and Looney is a quartet of big men none of which provide perimeter spacing. Perhaps the Pelicans think they'll get enough shooting from Trey Murphy III, Poole and Jordan Hawkins, but having multiple non-shooters on the floor at one time could cause problems that the Warriors know all too well and are looking to address with the expected arrival of Al Horford in free agency.
It leaves Looney in an interesting position and an external watch on how many minutes he'll actually earn in Willie Green's rotation. After seeing his minutes and role fall over each of the past two seasons with the Warriors, where does the 3x champion actually fall in the pecking order of he, Missi and Queen?
Perhaps this is more about getting an experienced, championship-proven veteran to help lead what is still an extremely young team, yet even then $16 million is a lot to pay if Looney isn't going to have too much on-court impact.