After the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to trade two first-round draft picks and two pick swaps to the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade for center Walker Kessler, they jettisoned Deandre Ayton, their starting center last season, to the Washington Wizards. That meant they needed a true backup center.
On Monday, they officially signed veteran Kevon Looney to a one-year contract. He will presumably serve as the main backup behind Kessler, with big man Sandro Mamukelashvili playing some minutes at the position with the Lakers go small.
In an interview with Mark Medina of Fadeaway World, Looney said he couldn’t resist the opportunity to come to L.A.
“I knew I was going to be a free agent,” Looney said. “I looked at the landscape of free agency and where there was an opportunity where I could play. A few teams called looking for a backup big. LA is a place that I come to all the time. I’m here a lot of the times. I got a lot of friends and family. So to have the opportunity to join the Lakers, I couldn’t turn that down.”
The 30-year-old played his college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles and recently got married in nearby Santa Barbara. After he was the No. 30 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, he spent his first 10 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, where he won three championships.
He’s known as a good rebounder who can effectively guard big men and even wings. But Looney is looking forward to helping his new team, particularly Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, by focusing on another aspect of the game.
“They have so much gravity. Luka is one of the best passers in the league. He can create so many opportunities for me as a pick-and-roll player. Being able to play at a high stage and play winning basketball again is amazing. Playing with Luka, it’s going to be super cool to see him do his thing. For me, I can bring some toughness to the team, physicality and offensive rebounding. As a screener, I can get guys like Luka and Austin open. I’m looking forward to that. I know if I can get those guys open, they can also get me a lot of layups and dunks (laughs). I’m super excited about all of that. I’m trying to watch more film and more of the games so I know how to implement myself.”
He knows his experience playing with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will help in that regard.
“Guys like Steph and Luka see a lot of different coverages. As a big man in the pick-and-roll, you have to be ready for all of those different reads. Is he getting blitzed? Are they playing into drop? You’re going to see all sorts of different coverages throughout the game. You have to be ready to change your screens and change your angles. So with playing with Steph, I’ve seen a lot. I can bring that to Luka. I know when we played him last year, we always doubled. We did a lot of tricky schemes. Already gaving that experience with playing with Steph, a player of that kind of caliber, just prepares my mind that they’re going to try to get the ball out of his hands. So I’ll be ready to make plays out of the pocket. Or hold my screens to get Luka open. Or set earlier screens in the back. I’ll do all of those things to try to make his job easier.”
Looney has career averages of 4.9 points on 57% field-goal shooting, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17.1 minutes a game. This past season with the New Orleans Pelicans, he appeared in just 21 games but put up 5.6 rebounds in 14.7 minutes a contest.
He is not an offensive threat, nor is he a lob threat. But he should help the Lakers on the boards and defensively while also doing some other less glamorous things that will help them win games.
His championship experience will also come in handy for a squad that has quickly gotten a lot younger after losing LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura in free agency.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Kevon Looney ‘couldn’t turn’ down signing with the Lakers
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
