After the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to trade two first-round draft picks and two pick swaps to the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade for center Walker Kessler, they jettisoned Deandre Ayton, their starting center last season, to the Washington Wizards. That meant they needed a true backup center.
On Monday, they officially signed veteran Kevon Looney to a one-year contract. He will presumably serve as the main backup behind Kessler, with big man Sandro Mamukelashvili playing some minutes at the position with the Lakers go small.
In an interview with Mark Medina of Fadeaway World, Looney said he couldn't resist the opportunity to come to L.A.
“I knew I was going to be a free agent,” Looney said. “I looked at the landscape of free agency and where there was an opportunity where I could play. A few teams called looking for a backup big. LA is a place that I come to all the time. I’m here a lot of the times. I got a lot of friends and family. So to have the opportunity to join the Lakers, I couldn’t turn that down.”
The 30-year-old played his college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles and recently got married in nearby Santa Barbara. After he was the No. 30 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, he spent his first 10 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, where he won three championships.