The New Orleans Pelicans are adding a big man.
The Pelicans have agreed to a deal with Kevon Looney, a 6-foot-9 center who spent his first 10 NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors, according to a report by ESPN.
The two-year deal is worth $16 million, a league source told The Athletic.
Looney won three NBA championships with the Warriors. He averaged 4.5 points and 6.1 rebounds this past season. His best season was 2022-23 when he averaged career highs in points (7.0) and rebounds (9.1).
Looney also brings veteran leadership to the locker room.
Most importantly, he’s been available. He played in all 82 games in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He played in 74 games the following year and 76 this past season. He has 89 games of playoff experience.
The acquisition of Looney gives the Pelicans a veteran inside presence to compensate for the loss of Kelly Olynyk, who was traded last week.
Looney’s presence can help develop the younger centers on the roster such as Yves Missi, who is entering his second season, and rookie Derik Queen.
Joe Dumars, in his first season as executive vice president of basketball operations, said after the draft last week that there was a chance the Pelicans would seek to add some size in free agency.
“It’s imperative that you have bigs,” Dumars said. “I’m not sure that we are done. You look at these teams and they are running two bigs out there. If you can’t match up, you’re in trouble. We want to make sure that’s a strong suit for us as well.”
It’s the latest move in what has been a busy offseason for the Pelicans under Dumars.
Last week, the Pelicans acquired Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey from the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Olynyk. Before that, the Pelicans obtained the rights to guard Mojave King in a trade with the Indiana Pacers.
The Pelicans also added three players to the roster in last week’s draft. They selected guard Jeremiah Fears (Oklahoma) and Queen (Maryland) in the first round and guard Micah Peavy (Georgetown) in the second round.
Monday was the first day of NBA free agency, when teams could begin negotiating contracts with free agents. Teams can begin signing free agents July 6.
In other Pelicans-related free agent news, Bruce Brown has agreed to a deal with the Denver Nuggets. The versatile Brown, who came to New Orleans in February on an expiring contract as part of the Brandon Ingram trade, played in 23 games in his short time with the Pelicans. He’s returning to the Nuggets, the team he played a key role on during their championship run in the 2022-23 season.
