The clock is ticking. The questions keep coming. With Klay Thompson set to become an unrestricted free agent in three weeks, the Warriors' future is pretty uncertain.
Thompson played his entire 13-year career with the Warriors, including two seasons missed with leg injuries, becoming a franchise legend winning four championship rings along the way. He will be the first of the Warriors' Big Three — Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green — to move teams.
But Klay isn't the only member of the Warriors' core that has won multiple titles and whose days as a member of the team may soon be coming to an end.
Kevon Looney has hit a roadblock in his ninth NBA season, one year after the best season of his career. He's doing everything he can to make sure it's a roadblock and not a dead end. Looney also knows that what happens next isn't entirely up to him.
The Warriors center appeared on “The Draymond Green Show” with longtime teammate Draymond Green after Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals to talk about the Boston Celtics' win over the Dallas Mavericks and other stories from their nearly decade together in Golden State. Green's final question for Looney wasn't about looking back, but about what's next for him and the Warriors.
“The ball is not in my court,” Looney said. “I can't fully control my destiny, so I just have to wait and control what I can control. I've done my whole career here and I don't know anything else. I always hope to finish what I start and spend my whole career somewhere else, but I've been in this business so long that I know that's not realistic. I'm ready for anything. My family is here and the Bay Area is a great place for me. They treat me like family. I grew up here.”
“I haven't really thought about it too much. I'm just trying to see what they're going to do first before I push the envelope and think about what I want to do.”
The 28-year-old Looney signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract as a free agent in 2022 to remain with the Warriors after winning his third championship and playing all 82 games for the first time in his career. The third and final year of Looney's contract comes with a very important detail: Only $3 million of the $8 million in his deal is guaranteed in 2024-25.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob is desperate to shed money from a very expensive roster that missed the playoffs, and firing Looney would be an easy way to do that.
Looney's first year on the deal looked like one of the bargains of the offseason. He again played in all 82 games, starting 70 of them, averaging 7.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 23.9 minutes per game while finishing eighth in Most Valuable Player voting. The “MVP” chants as the Warriors won the championship in 2022 seemed like a distant memory after Looney struggled last season.
His consecutive games played streak came to an end at 290. Looney lost his starting spot to second-round rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis and was DNPed in eight of the Warriors' final 21 games. This isn't the first time Looney has dealt with adversity in his NBA career. In fact, it's not the first time.
“Right now I'm just focused on my game,” Looney told Green. “The end of the season wasn't the best end for me, but I'm proud of the way I adapted and figured things out.”
The respect Looney has earned over the years in the Warriors locker room is there. There's no jealousy or resentment. He continues to lead by example.
Looney, like everyone else, sees the lob threat posed by Mavs centers Daniel Gafford and Derek Lively III. He sees the Celtics playing five-and-out basketball with big men like Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Looney isn't going to grow to 7 feet tall, start dunking like a poster boy or make the 3-point line his second home.
He's going to evolve for the team and for himself.
When the Warriors selected the 19-year-old Looney at the end of the first round in 2015, there was no telling whether he would be a three-pointer or a four-pointer. After multiple hip surgeries, Looney has fended off his competition to become one of the most unique, reliable and efficient centers in the league. He has also missed all three three-point attempts (one each year) over the past three seasons.
During his exit press conference, Looney said he wanted to be more aggressive, including aiming for a 35-36 percent 3-point shooting percentage, something he stated nearly two months ago. Since then, Looney has clearly taken those words to heart.
“I have a new goal. That's my new plan,” Looney said. “I'm looking forward to it because I have to be able to adapt. To add to my game, to adjust to this new NBA and figure it out. I've been working hard and I feel like I'll be a different player next year. That's always been my goal.”
“I feel like I've overcome my old role, so now I have to figure out the new role and take the next step. That's what I've been focused on. I'm trying to focus on my game. Usually, if I focus and put in the effort on my game, things always go well.”
Thompson is not alone, and neither is Looney. The Warriors will make changes this offseason. They have to. Looney himself has already begun to change the way he plays and thinks. Whether he ends up with the Warriors or becomes a salary cap casualty, the three-time champion is setting himself up for success by stepping into the unknown.
“The ball is not in my court,” he reiterated. “I've been a Warrior my whole life. No matter what happens, I'm going to be a Warrior my whole life. I'm really just waiting to see what our organization does.”
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