ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Kevon Looney, a three-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. This came as a shock on day one of NBA Free Agency, as Looney was heavily expected to return to the Warriors. The addition of Looney makes it hard to figure out where rookie center Derik Queen fits in the rotation.
After trading up and selecting Queen No. 13 in the 2025 NBA Draft, many expected New Orleans to run a tandem of Queen and Yves Missi at the center spot in 2025-26. However, the addition of Looney complicates that as he brings much more experience than both of the Pels' young bigs.
The chances of Looney being a third-string center for the Pelicans seem very low, as why would he depart from Golden State, where he won 3 championships and spent 10 years there, to be that low on the depth chart?, This suggests that he was either guaranteed to be a starter or was guaranteed heavy minutes as a backup.
Signing Looney is to date, my favorite move Joe Dumars has made since taking over as the leader of the Pelicans' front office. This group desperately needed a winner, someone with championship experience and most importantly, someone who can protect the rim. Bringing in Looney helps all of those things, but what it also does is make trading up for Derik Queen even more questionable, as I struggled to figure out where he fits in next season's rotation.
Could Queen be spending most of his rookie year in the G League?
Queen, while he is a very polished scorer, rebounder and playmaker, his game has a ton of holes. He is a mediocre defender, he can't shoot and struggles playing off the ball. All of these could be developed in the G League with the Birmingham Squadron. We've seen great success stories come out of the G League. Look at Jordan Poole, who spent almost his whole rookie year with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Even though Dumars may push Willie Green to play Queen, as they just spent a lottery pick on him, Looney is just a much better fit. Green is a defensive-minded coach and might struggle to integrate Queen right away, as he is negative on that side of the ball. Playing Looney would undoubtedly lead to more wins, as his ability to get stops at the rim is something that this group is missing.
Although the addition of Looney may take minutes away from Queen, that's a good thing; it'll allow Queen to spend his first season focused on development and preparing to be an NBA-level player.
While size is extremely important in the modern NBA, versatility is much more valuable, even though there is a world where we could see a three-big rotation of Missi, Looney and Queen. Having three paint-oriented big men on a team with Zion Williamson, who mainly operates in the same areas, would create a logjam. Giving Queen's minutes to someone like Antonio Reeves would hold more value because he can play three different positions and multiple roles.
I'm a massive fan of this move and believe Looney is exactly what this group has been missing. While it may reduce how much we see Derik Queen on the court for the Pelicans, that could actually benefit his development in the long run.