Looney goes to Santa Cruz for playing time

Kevon Looney has been assigned to the Warriors’ Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Friday’s move was made to get the second-year forward much-needed playing time. Even with Kevin Durant sidelined the past two-plus weeks by a left knee injury, Looney has topped the 10-minute mark only once in the Warriors’ past 11 games.

“Kevon needs to play,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s fallen out of the rotation, obviously. So, he needs to go down (to Santa Cruz) and get a lot of minutes. That’ll be good for him.”

Looney was limited to five games last season because he underwent two hip surgeries. Stuck on the depth chart behind Durant, Draymond Green, David West, James Michael McAdoo and, lately, Matt Barnes, the UCLA alum has been relegated mostly to mop-up duty.

In 8.8 minutes per game this season, he is averaging 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds. In last Saturday’s 107-85 loss to San Antonio, when Kerr was sitting Andre Iguodala, Green, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, Looney made his fourth career start. He finished with two points on 1-for-8 shooting in 17 minutes.

Kerr has suggested that, to give him significant experience, Looney could be with Santa Cruz for an extended period. In his only previous D-League assignment this season, a Jan. 13 win over Salt Lake City, he had 18 points and 23 rebounds.

Looney, who was available for Santa Cruz’s Friday night game against the Texas Legends, joins Golden State rookie Damian Jones on the DLeague club. Jones is expected to stick with Santa Cruz until the regular season ends March 31, which would have him back with the NBA team for the Warriors’ final six regularseason games.

“Right now, we’ve got enough bodies,” Kerr said. “We’re more worried about their development than getting them in for a few minutes of a blowout.”

Curry update: A day after he returned from an early ankle injury to score 25 points in Golden State’s rout of the Magic, Curry showed no lingering signs of injury Friday at practice.