Looney adds mid-range shot to natural drive
OAKLAND >> The man seemingly never stops working. At some point, though, Warriors forward Kevon Looney had a rare free moment in practice when he wasn’t studying film, lifting weights, improving his jump shot or completing conditioning drills.
Then, Warriors coach Steve Kerr shared with Looney earlier this week his prediction on how his NBA career will unfold.
“Your career may not end up being glamorous,” Kerr told Looney. “But it’s going to be really productive and long.”
The reason? Looney enters his fourth NBA season with the Warriors as a key reserve whose value seems both definitive and uncertain. The Warriors have appreci-
ated Looney’s work ethic, defensive fundamentals and positional versatility. They have become both intrigued and unsure, though, if his summer-long devotion to his mid-range jumper will actually give them another reliable shooter.
So with All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins sidelined until further notice while he rehabs his left Achilles tendon, the Warriors have evaluated Looney, third-year center Damian Jones and second-year forward Jordan Bell as starting candidates. Jones started in the Warriors’ preseason opener last week against Minnesota, but that could change in Friday’s exhibition against Sacramento in Seattle and beyond.
In Looney’s case, it remains unclear how Kerr will weigh his positive attributes and question marks. Kerr remains more clairvoyant, however, on Looney’s longterm trajectory.
“He’s going to have a good 10- or 12-year run in the league,” Kerr said. “Because he’s one of the guys who I know I can always count on, whether I start him or bring him off the bench or sit him for four straight games and then start him the fifth game. I know he’s going to be a ready. He’s a pro. Guys like that are enormously valuable.”
Looney considered Kerr’s words valuable, saying “that’s a great compliment” because of Kerr’s credibility as a Warriors head coach (2004-present), a former NBA player (1998-2003), a former TNT commentator (2003-07, 2010-14) and a former Suns general manager (2007-10).
“He’s a champion. He’s seen the best in the league. So to have that confidence is big for me,” Looney said. “It’s one of my goals — to be in this league a long time and leave a mark. I know I have great guys around me to learn from and I’m going to keep soaking up knowledge.”
All of which partly explains why Looney is still wearing a Warriors uniform
for the 2017-18 season.
The Warriors feared they might lose Looney as an unrestricted free agent after he posted career-highs last season in points (4.4), shooting percentage (58.0), rebounds (3.3) and minutes (13.8). The Warriors became pleased with those numbers. But they did not exactly anticipate that happening.
The Warriors had declined last October to guarantee Looney’s contract worth $2.3 million because of luxury tax concerns. It did not help, though, that Looney had played only a combined 58 games his first two seasons because of overlapping hip injuries that required surgery.
“It was a little nerve wracking thinking we might lose him,” Kerr said. “But it all worked out in the end for us.”
It might help that Looney did not command much attention in a free-agent market that went dry two years after the NBA’s salary cap spike. He fielded interest from Houston, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia and Atlanta. But as Looney admitted, “nobody really offered.”
That gave the Warriors leverage to re-sign Looney at a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum. Still, Looney maintained he would not have calculated his decision simply by looking at a spread sheet.
“If it would’ve been a situation where it was a certain amount of money that you can’t turn down in my position, I would’ve taken it. If it was anything closer or near, I wanted to stay here and stay in a situation I know,” Looney said. “I don’t think there was any other better situation out there for me as far as minutes. Even with DeMarcus coming, I knew I had a chance to be in the rotation. I felt it was the best situation for me and everybody here.”
For now, Looney has stayed intent on bettering himself. A year after shedding 30 pounds and dropping to eight percent body fat, Looney reported he feels in the “best shape I’ve been in” during his NBA career.
He spent his summer dabbling in mixed martial arts
and track-and-field runs. He trained frequently with Warriors assistant coach/director of player development Chris DeMarco on his shooting by mixing in conditioning drills and game simulations. At times, Looney attempted shots he normally would not receive in a game, such as a shot from the elbow or a corner 3-pointer after a sprint. Other times, Looney took shots that would be more realistic in a game, such as a mid-range jumper after running a pick-and-roll. Looney often completed this regimen with Bell.
Hence, Looney and Bell shared a laugh when Looney became the first big man to attempt a mid-range jumper in Saturday’s exhibition against Minnesota. They normally feel uncomfortable taking those shots, knowing that Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant or Draymond Green are better options even when they are not open. Instead, Looney listened to the All-Stars’ encouragement.
“As a big, you don’t want to be the first one to shoot,” Looney said, chuckling. “But we shot enough shots this summer. We should be able to shoot one or two a game. We’re not going to overdo it or take bad shots. But if it’s in the flow of the game, Steve will tell us to go shoot it.”
Kerr has also told Looney not to become stressed out if his shot does not fall right away, or at all.
“I have full confidence I can put him out on the floor and he’ll know exactly what’s going on both ends,” Kerr said. “If he makes the 15- or 17-foot shot, that’s great. But it’s not what is going to keep him in the league. It might elevate him within the league. But he’s already a pro because of everything else he does.”
• Kerr said Green will not play in Friday’s exhibition game against Sacramento because of a sore left knee that kept him out of practice Tuesday and Wednesday.
Kerr sounded hopeful that Green can practice on Thursday after an MRI “came out clean.” But Kerr reported Green still had “a little inflammation” on Wednesday morning.