Champion Warriors bring back Looney on three-year deal

The Golden State Warriors have retained a key member of their NBA championship team by agreeing to a three-year, $25.5million contract with forward Kevon Looney, ESPN reported on Friday.

A first-round pick of the Warriors in 2015, Looney started a career-high 80 regular-season games in 2021-22 and emerged as a valuable complementary contributor to Golden State’s fourth NBA title in eight years.

The 26-year-old averaged just 6.0 points per game during the regular season but was among the Warriors’ top rebounders at 7.3 per game while providing a strong interior defensive presence.

Looney also chipped in a couple of standout performances during Golden State’s title run. The seven-year veteran grabbed 22 rebounds – one short of a franchise single-game postseason record – in a series-clinching Game 6 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round, then later amassed 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with 12 boards in a Game 2 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.

Keeping Looney was a top priority for the Warriors, who will be losing two other important rotation players in free agency in forward Otto Porter Jr. and guard Gary Payton II.

Porter agreed to a two-year contract with the Toronto Raptors, according to Yahoo Sports, while The Athletic reports that Payton will sign a three-year, $28 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.