Golden State Warriors: Ranking the team’s center options

5. Kevon Looney

An uncertainty to make the 2017-18 roster, Looney now averages more minutes per game than Bell or McGee.

Much of his increased role is due to the unique skill-set Looney brings to this roster. He is a better rebounder than McGee or Bell, and is better in an up-tempo game than Pachulia or West. He protects the rim better than Pachulia or McGee, and can switch better than all except Bell.

Looney has distinct weaknesses too. He’s the poorest passer of every Golden State big. He has very little shooting range, and lacks the ability to put the ball on the floor. While he is a versatile defender, he does not have the high-level impact of Bell or West, nor the positional awareness or post strength of Pachulia.

His current role seems to have as much to do with Kerr wanting to reward his hard work as anything else. Looney got in shape during the offseason and plays extremely hard every minute — a rarity on this year’s Warriors team.

While his regular season role will not go anywhere so long as he continues to play well, he has deficiencies that cannot be reconciled on a team with so many options.