Former Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney is back in California, but this time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the development and did so via social media on Tuesday, July 7.
“Free agent center Kevon Looney has agreed on a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, Life Sports Agency CEO Todd Ramasar tells ESPN,” Charania posted to X.
Kevon Looney Played 10 Seasons for Warriors to Begin NBA Career
GettyKevon Looney, formerly of the Golden State Warriors.
Looney, who is just 30 years old, will play his 12th NBA season in 2026-27.
He spent his first 10 campaigns with the Warriors, winning three titles during that stretch and then played one year for the New Orleans Pelicans last season. New Orleans did not exercise a team option on his deal for the upcoming campaign, opting to save $8 million and go a different direction instead.
All told, Looney played 599 games for Golden State, starting 262 of them. He averaged a total of 5.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in 17.2 minutes per night across that run.
The $3.9 million salary he inked is the equivalent of the veteran’s league minimum for players with 10 or more years of NBA service. Looney will play behind newly inked center Walker Kessler, for whom the Lakers surrendered two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Utah Jazz before inking Kessler to a $130 million deal.
Warriors Remain Strong Candidates to Add Former Lakers Star LeBron James in Free Agency
GettyLeBron James, formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers.
While one former Warriors champion in Looney is heading to the Lakers, there remains a reasonable possibility that one former Lakers champion in LeBron James might end up in Golden State next season.
James is a free agent after parting ways with Los Angeles at the beginning of free agency. His agent Rich Paul has said that money is not his client’s primary concern, which means James could end up signing somewhere for $3.9 million as well.
However, the Warriors have the ability to ink James to the full non-taxpayers midlevel exception of $15.1 million after Draymond Green opted out of the final year of his contract in 2026-27, which was valued at nearly $28 million.
Green’s most likely path forward is to re-sign in Golden State on a multiyear contract worth more than $28 million in total, thereby extending his career with the franchise and making more money in the long run than the final year on his previous deal guaranteed him. The Warriors should be able to execute such an arrangement and still offer James north of $15 million.
That is probably the best financial compensation James can expect heading into his age-42 campaign, also known as his 24th professional season. Most of the other potential contenders for his services have only league minimum offers to make to fill out the final roster spot or two they still have open.
Some of those battling the Warriors for James this summer include the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.
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