The Golden State Warriors may have to be wary of a team in their own division this offseason.
Veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported this week in a post to Substack that the Sacramento Kings are among the teams said to be interested in signing Warriors big man Kevon Looney. Stein also mentions the Charlotte Hornets as a team with potential interest.
The 26-year-old Looney does not quite pop out in the stat sheet with modest averages of 6.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this year. But he remains one of Golden State’s most important players because of his multi-purpose defense and hard work on the glass on both ends. Looney has now played a crucial role on three of the Warriors’ title teams, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr even admitted recently that he erred by not playing Looney enough.
The Kings do figure to be a non-insignificant threat to sign Looney though. Located less than 100 miles away, the Kings won’t be too much of a lifestyle change for him, and they are also going to be coached by longtime Warriors assistant Mike Brown starting next season. While Sacramento might not be contending for a title any time this millennium, that may be less important for Looney than money and touches since he already has three rings.
Once they have come down from their championship high, the Warriors will have some major things to consider this summer, perhaps even the trade of a core player. But they might also have to ward away the vultures when it comes to the unrestricted free agent Looney.
