The New Orleans Pelicans front office will face a ton of questions this summer: who to hire as the team's next head coach, what to do with Zion Williamson, and whether it's finally time to enter a rebuild, just to name a few. Out of all the decisions Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver will face, there is no easier decision than what to do with Kevon Looney’s $8 million team option.
When the Pelicans brought in Looney, he was expected to be a veteran voice and a consistent rebounding presence that this team had never had next to Zion Williamson. The three-time NBA champion spent his entire career in Golden State playing alongside star players, so the idea was that the transition to playing alongside Zion in New Orleans would be smoother. However, things didn't pan out that way, as Looney dealt with injuries at the start of the season and struggled to ever find a real role with the Pelicans.
Right player at the wrong time
Looney missed the Pelicans' first five games of the season and only made 21 appearances over the course of the season. The issue wasn’t production, as he still averaged 5.6 rebounds in fewer than 15 minutes per game and was in the 88th percentile in offensive rebounding percentage according to Cleaning the Glass. Looney's conditioning and health were problematic, as it was clear that after missing just 14 games over his previous four years with the Warriors, it may have caught up to him.
Looney was still consistently setting quality screens, and New Orleans had a higher three-point shot frequency when he was on the court than off, according to Databallr.
The ability to set high-quality screens was one of the biggest draws for Looney, as he gave the Warriors an advantage whenever he was on the court, freeing up shooters for cleaner looks. For a Pelicans team that didn't have elite three-point shooting personnel, having someone who, in theory, could give them more open looks was a great thought process. Father Time simply said no, and the Pelicans struggled because of it.
During the 2025 offseason, the Pelicans were limited with financial flexibility, which made hitting on their Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level exception that much more important. The decision to invest all that money into Looney was a risk that blew up in New Orleans’ face and is a factor in why this experiment will be over after one season.
The process was there, the idea was great, the playstyle was exactly what New Orleans needed from the center spot—but it just came at the wrong time. Looney was the perfect player at the wrong time in his career.
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