Kevon Looney is not an NBA caliber player

[Swift21]

Not picking up the option lit a fire under Looney's ass. It's just what he needed.

[Outside]

Looney's looked better than I expected. He's also slimmer than I recall, which is helping his rotations. There's a long way to go, but he looks better than James Michael McAdoo did, perhaps better than Festus (not that I want to see Looney on an island against LeBron with the finals on the line).

Good on him. He's obviously worked hard, both physically and studying video. Stay healthy, big guy.

[a8bil]

LOL on the hot takes about Looney finally being motivated to play. You'ld think he never went through two hip surgeries. Geez.

[Mylie10]

LOL on the hot takes about Looney finally being motivated to play. You'ld think he never went through two hip surgeries. Geez.

Change the title of the thread to MVP caliber player

[oaktownwarriors87]

Kevon Looney per 36 minutes over his career vs Andris Biedrins at the same age... which one is which?

PPG 12.1
RPG 11.8
APG 1.2
SPG 1.0
BPG 1.8
FG% 61.6
FT% 52.8
TOV 1.6
PF 5.0

PPG 11.0
RPG 10.0
APG 2.0
SPG 1.0
BPG 1.8
FG% 54.0
FT% 55.3
TOV 1.5
PF 5.7

They are completely different players, I just thought it was funny how similar their numbers were.

[cpower]

i hate to say this but i think we made a mistake by not having him around for another year. He can start over zaza and play a healthy 20 mins

[a8bil]

Interesting Oaktown...Looney's just starting his career...I bet the numbers don't end of being all that similar, but it is eerie how similar they are now.

[East Bay Sports]

i hate to say this but i think we made a mistake by not having him around for another year. He can start over zaza and play a healthy 20 mins

No reason we can't try and bring him back if he continues to look serviceable. I sincerely doubt he plays well enough to have any team throwing a ton of money at him.

[weekend_warrior]

He is a RFA after this season anyways, right?
Maybe he develops enough to warrant another multiyear deal, that is still cheap enough after this year (still limited playing time). Next year he could replace Zaza as starting center which would probably make him more expensive after that season.

Or they really just don't want to keep him. But then I don't really understand, because he brings really good value for a minimum level guy (and might be even better next season).

[GQ Hot Dog]

I think we will be signing Looney next season, they just didn't want to have to pay him that much. I'm sure this has all been discussed with him and if he gets a better offer then they'll wish him the best.

Nah if you don't pick an option for a first rounder it's because you are done with the player.

My guess would be we pay someone to take him at the deadline and replace him with a guard from the buyout market.

He's a UFA because we declined his option but the reason he's been getting so much playing time is because we always intended to re-sign him to a lesser deal than his rookie scale salary next season.

[BW32]

I think we will be signing Looney next season, they just didn't want to have to pay him that much. I'm sure this has all been discussed with him and if he gets a better offer then they'll wish him the best.

Nah if you don't pick an option for a first rounder it's because you are done with the player.

My guess would be we pay someone to take him at the deadline and replace him with a guard from the buyout market.

He's a UFA because we declined his option but the reason he's been getting so much playing time is because we always intended to re-sign him to a lesser deal than his rookie scale salary next season.

That's kinda backwards tho, I mean if you play a guy he's more likely to build his value.

Also can't remember Looney's projected salary but I wanna say it was in the area of 2.2 mil for next season, with his minimum salary beign over 1.5 so to make a guy unrestricted to hopefully save 700k makes little sense.

Fitz mentioned something about Steve saying it was a business decision, not sure if that's a quote but if it is maybe the coaches and FO just didn't agree on Loney's outlook.

[and1GS]

When numbers are as tight as they are with our cap situation I think $700k for a 10-12th man actually does make a difference in the long run. At $2.2m I don't think it's worth keeping Looney on even after West likely retires.

[a8bil]

Nah if you don't pick an option for a first rounder it's because you are done with the player.

My guess would be we pay someone to take him at the deadline and replace him with a guard from the buyout market.

He's a UFA because we declined his option but the reason he's been getting so much playing time is because we always intended to re-sign him to a lesser deal than his rookie scale salary next season.

Also can't remember Looney's projected salary but I wanna say it was in the area of 2.2 mil for next season, with his minimum salary beign over 1.5 so to make a guy unrestricted to hopefully save 700k makes little sense.

Fitz mentioned something about Steve saying it was a business decision, not sure if that's a quote but if it is maybe the coaches and FO just didn't agree on Loney's outlook.

My impression was that given the W's cap situation, you have to multiply every dollar given to Looney by 4 to get his real costs, in terms of salary and tax. So, $700k = $2.8MM. I could have this totally wrong and invite a capologist to chime in to correct me if I am wrong.

[shazam_guy]

Was just wondering if anyone wanted to reconsider earlier takes. Looney's become a very valuable piece off the bench.

[East Bay Sports]

I stand by my takes especially this one

I take full responsibility for any and all Looney progression this season. He or his agent clearly saw my call out thread and accepted it as a challenge and the rest has manifested its self in the way of the best Looney we've seen.

You're welcome?

[Mylie10]

Was just wondering if anyone wanted to reconsider earlier takes. Looney's become a very valuable piece off the bench.

Not me...lol

And the way he was and is moving last night looks good. He'll never be an athletic wonder, but he has great length and he guards smaller players beautifully.

I really hope we bring him back at the cheaper rate next year and increase his role. He really sucks when playing garbage time. But when playing meaningful minutes with the main guys, he's very good.

[Mylie10]

I said it last year before he had surgery again, but I truly believe Looney can be a way above average defender. If you watch him exclusively in his meaningful minutes, his defense is impeccable.

[GQ Hot Dog]

I said it last year before he had surgery again, but I truly believe Looney can be a way above average defender. If you watch him exclusively in his meaningful minutes, his defense is impeccable.

Also, his ability to pursue rebounds is unique and sorely needed on this team.

[Money_]

Whatever we need, he seems to fill that hole quickly. Almost DWest quickly. I like all the offensive rebounds and second possessions he gives us. He got good hands and is in position to make plays often. It's easy to see that he'll probably work out best coming off the bench in the NBA and giving teams the rebounding and hustle plays. He's a smart player too, so there should be a role for him on most teams. He will most likely not be our future starting 4/5. Pulling for him in his career though.

[Badly Browned]

Looney is already close to what the Ws want out of a bigman defensively.

Biggest weakness is the ability to finish in traffic at the rim. Which if he's playing next to the Warriors stars isn't a huge issue.

Hopefully he finally has a healthy offseason and can work on that jumper he occasionally showed off in college. A consistent elbow jumper would be good (think DWest or Speights in 14'-15') although of course a 3pt shot would be the ideal.