Kevon Looney’s nine-year tenure with the Golden State Warriors could be coming to an end. The veteran big man has one year remaining on his current contract. While that year is valued at $8 million, only $3 million of it is guaranteed. As such, the Warriors could save themselves $5 million in cap space by cutting the two-time champion during the summer.
Joe Lacob has previously expressed his desire for the Warriors to avoid the luxury tax. According to The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, who appeared on a recent episode of the “Warriors Plus Minus” podcast, cutting Looney would be a logical move for the front office.
“I think the likeliest situation is that he’s cut and he makes $3 million from them and he’s off looking for another spot, and there will be another spot for him in this league,” Kawakami said. “Teams are going to want him, again for a very low number, but they’re going to want him.”
Looney played in 74 games for Steve Kerr’s team this season, starting 36 of them. He averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 59.7% from the field. At 28 years old, Looney will undoubtedly have multiple teams interested in acquiring him if he becomes available.
The emergence of Trayce Jackson-Davis could potentially make Golden State’s decision to part with Looney a bit easier. The rookie big man impressed when given the opportunity and could be a cost-controlled replacement for multiple years. Nevertheless, losing Looney would be a tough blow, even if it did help move the Warriors closer to being under the luxury cap.
