Kevon Looney is no longer a Warrior, and the three-time champion didn’t hold back when explaining what pushed him to leave.
Looney detailed his uncertainty with the team and how it ultimately led him to join the Pelicans after ten seasons in The Bay.
“These last few years, everything’s been changing, everything’s been kind of up and down,” Looney said on Warriors Plus Minus podcast. “They are telling me late. My minutes’ always up and down. I was like, “What’s really going to happen?’ I don’t know how they really view me, or how much they’re going to offer. It can vary with the Warriors.
“It varies between taxpayer mid-level to minimum, and I can’t, like, it’s a big difference,” he explained. “I can’t wait on that, I want to control my own destiny. That kind of made it easy because I know how they like to negotiate and how they like to do business. …”
The big man also pointed to a moment in the playoffs against Memphis when he felt the coaching staff did him dirty.
“It was not one moment. Like, even this year, probably in the playoffs,” Looney said. “We’re going against Steven Adams. This is what I do. They’re not giving me the chance to really let me do what I do. It’s like, alright, y’all don’t trust me. I thought y’all would trust me.”
Looney now joins a promising Pelicans roster alongside former teammate Jordan Poole. Last season he averaged 4.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in 15 minutes of game time.
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