Kevon Looney has regularly faced on-court pressure when it comes to his role and playing time over recent years, having lost his starting role and having seen his minutes fluctuate toward the end of his career with the Golden State Warriors.
But Looney will now face a new and different pressure upon his arrival at the New Orleans Pelicans, with the veteran center looking to bring experience and leadership to a franchise that finished second-last in the Western Conference last season.
Kevon Looney will have to live up to his contract at the Pelicans
How much Looney is able to showcase that experience and leadership while actually on the court is going to be fascinating, particularly when the Pelicans have a pair of young centers in Yves Missi and Derik Queen.
The issue for Looney is that he's going to have to be far more than just a strong locker room presence, with many analysts still left stunned that he was able to garner a two-year, $16 million from New Orleans in the opening hours of free agency.
That was summarized in a recent comment from Will Guillory of The Athletic who questioned the value in the Pelicans decision after Looney's previous two years with the Warriors.
“Multiple years for Kevon Looney who was struggling to break the rotation in Golden State? Probably not something that a lot of people saw come in this summer," Guillory said.
This is not only the first time where Looney will have to acclimatize to a completely new system outside the Warriors, but it's also perhaps the first time where he'll have to live up to a contract that's being questioned before he even steps foot on the floor.
When Looney last re-signed with Golden State on a three-year, $22.5 million contract in 2022, it came immediately following a championship where he averaged over 20 minutes and started in 13 games during the playoffs.
The time before that he re-signed on a three-year, $14.5 million in 2019 after another run to the NBA Finals, having also averaged over 20 minutes per game during the playoffs. On both occasions these were seen as team-friendly deals, and perhaps situations where the 3x champion was turning down more money elsewhere to remain loyal to Golden State.
Now Looney has left the Warriors to take the money. No one can begrudge him for doing so, but it does also bring a new level of pressure and expectation that he perhaps hasn't been accustomed to previously in his 10-year career.