Minnesota Timberwolves Bargain Basement Bigs IV: Kevon Looney

Offseason challenges for every NBA team who did not win the NBA Championship are all about finding the right players and depth mix to get over that hump. For the lone team that did manage to win it all, it’s about keeping the band together. Well, we’ve got a ways to go before the Minnesota Timberwolves face the challenges of an NBA Champion. So far, the challenges of how to get there have been enough to keep the team’s front office occupied.

That may be changing with the arrival of the new Minnesota Timberwolves President Tim Connelly. While he did not build a champion in his former team, the Denver Nuggets, he was well on his way to building something special. One of his best achievements was finding great value late in the draft and among overlooked players in NBA Free Agency.

That will most certainly be put to the test in his first season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, as the team has a solid core, but needs a number of complementary pieces to wrap around the starters in a variety of niche roles. One such area in need of stronger play in the frontcourt, specifically a backup center.

NBA Free Agency – IV Kevon Looney

The very versatile power forward/ center of the Golden State Warriors Kevon Looney is projected to hit free agency this offseason. As has been the trend for the Warriors, Looney is a smallish 6-foot-9 222-pound big who is 26 years of age who can make shots in the paint but also drive to the hoop, turn and dish to a teammate at the perimeter, and aid the team in making a crucial three-point play.

Looney is another defensive presence on the basketball court. For a smaller center, he is amazingly adept at getting the rebound, and he is quick enough to be troublesome for anyone he is defending. He is deceptively effective at reaching in for the steal and is himself great with ball control.

He has only known to play with the Golden State Warriors, and that may continue. He is coming off a three-year / $14,464,287 contract with the Warriors and could be pried away with the right offer. Looney is the type of player who can step up big in big games. Even when he shot just 28.7 percent from the floor in Game 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies, he was a defensive monster, pulling down 22 rebounds, dishing out five assists, and even blocking a shot.