After some early losses to free agency, the Warriors reportedly secured a key piece in their 2022 title run.
Three-time NBA champion Kevon Looney has agreed to a three-year, $25.5 million deal to return to the Warriors, league sources confirmed Friday afternoon.
Looney was widely considered the Warriors’ top free-agent priority. The importance of re-signing him, which was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, was heightened when rotational players like Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. reportedly took deals elsewhere.
At 26, Looney, whom the Warriors picked 30th overall in the 2015 NBA draft, is in his prime and played his best and most complete season in the NBA. Hampered by injuries in past years, Looney played all 82 regular-season games for the Warriors for the first time in his career, averaging six points, 7.3 rebounds and two assists. He was essential in the Warriors pursuit for their fourth title in eight years.
Looney snatched a career-high 22 rebounds in the Warriors' series-clinching Game 6 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to advance to the Western Conference finals. He also scored a career-high 21 points in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, a blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Re-signing Looney seemed like a no-brainer for the Warriors, who were thin at center last season. He adds pressure on the boards and in the paint. It also takes some pressure off of James Wiseman, the former No. 2 overall pick who missed all of last season with persistent knee issues.
It’s still unclear when Wiseman will return to live game action. He’s been testing his knee at Summer League practices and hasn’t experienced any setbacks in his recovery since receiving an orthobiologic injection in his arm in April about a month after the Warriors shut him down for the season. The goal is for Wiseman to play in the latter part of the Las Vegas portion of Summer League later this month.
