The Los Angeles Lakers may not contend for the NBA championship this coming season, but they have assembled an intriguing squad that should be competitive nonetheless and could serve as the beginnings of a championship team down the road.
After trading for Walker Kessler, the type of prominent center they wanted and needed, they went to work filling out the rest of their roster. One thing they needed was a true backup center, and to that end, they got an agreement from Kevon Looney, a 30-year-old veteran, last week.
Looney officially signed with the Lakers on Monday. He had agreed to sign for one year and $3.9 million, and he will wear No. 55 for the Purple and Gold.
Looney has always been a good rebounder and has a career average of 5.7 boards in 17.1 minutes a game. At 6-foot-9 and 222 pounds, he’s somewhat undersized for the 5 spot, but he plays bigger than his literal size. He isn’t an offensive threat or a shot-blocker, but he’s a good defender against both big men and wings. He won three NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors, the team he spent his first 10 seasons with after he was the No. 30 pick in the 2015 draft.
Looney played his college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2014-15 season. He is a first cousin of Nick Young, who played for the Lakers for four seasons starting with the 2013-14 campaign.
