Dave Litman
The Los Angeles Lakers made a big splash already this summer to firm up their center position, executing a blockbuster sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler. Now they’ve got his backup, with a free agent deal to bring in former Golden State Warriors three-time champion big man Kevon Looney.
It’s a one-year, $3.9 million deal for Looney with the Lakers.
The veteran defensive center won’t score much, but he can rebound and offers switchable defensive versatility. He’s also a valued locker room presence.
Looney spent 10 years with the Warriors, playing on three of their championship teams. He averaged about 17 minutes a game in that time, with 5.0 ppg and 5.7 rebounds.
The 30-year-old played just 21 games last season with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team, however, is rightfully focused on going with youngsters Derik Queen and Yves Missi in the middle, and they decided not to pick up the $8 million club option on Looney for next season. As an unrestricted free agent, Looney also had interest from the New York Knicks, but they decided to sign Andre Drummond as their backup for Karl-Anthony Towns. The Boston Celtics were also reportedly interested.
Looney was a first-round pick of the Dubs back in 2015, 30th overall. He eventually worked his way into a legitimate part of their rotation. Although he didn’t play in the playoffs during their 2017 title run, he did play solid roles during the 2018 and 2022 championship runs.
The Kessler/Looney combo is a nice improvement down low for the Lakers this season, as they’ve moved on from both Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, who left a lot to be desired at the ‘five’ in 2025-26.
As noted by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, with another offseason free agent addition, Sandro Mamukelashvili, coming off the bench to provide offense, and Looney able to offer defense, the Lakers have themselves a nice big man rotation.
