2. Kevon Looney
Another who was considered underpaid this time 12 months ago, Kevon Looney was unable to replicate his career-best 2022-23 season. In fact, the 3x champion proved so ineffective that he found himself out of the rotation at times over the second half of last season.
Looney's 16.1 minutes per game were a five-year low, having been a victim of his own underwhelming form and the surprising rise of rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis. Draymond Green is expected to start at center among a front court of he, Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, leaving Jackson-Davis as the primary back up big man.
So where does Looney fit on a deep Golden State roster? The answer is probably outside a fully healthy rotation where he's simply the third center reliant on injury or foul issues. Paying a third-string center $8 million isn't ideal, though the Warriors can take comfort knowing it's the final year of Looney's contract and that they're severely underpaying Jackson-Davis who will be making $1.9 million next season.
While his role may not carry the same importance as Wiggins, Looney is in a similar boat where he could turn the "overpaid" tag around. He is only 28-years-old and we're still less than 18 months removed from the nine-year veteran being arguably Golden State's second-most important player in a seven-game playoff series against the Sacramento Kings.