As if LakeShow needed more to feel like Rob Pelinka overspent on Walker Kessler, Jovan Buha, backed by more NBA insiders, confirmed that the Los Angeles Lakers have officially signed Kevon Looney. Previously, they were competing with the New York Knicks for him. But after the reigning champions got the steal in the center market, the Lakers secured their frontcourt depth with Looney. As Buha revealed, Looney was the Lakers’ critical backup plan after losing Andre Drummond to the Knicks.

The NBA champion and former Golden State Warriors veteran agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million minimum contract. While Looney brings immediate veteran experience and championship grit into the rotation, he wasn’t the original choice on the open market when they signed Walker Kessler and traded away Deandre Ayton. Buha confirmed that the Lakers’ front office actively pursued the 4x NBA rebounding leader Andre Drummond for his elite skills. 

“[Looney is] about as realistically good as it gets based on the minimum market, which again is an incredibly low bar, picking among those names,” Buha explained on his YouTube show. “The Lakers did prefer Andre Drummond before he ended up signing with the Knicks. That’s why he was on that shortlist. He was clearly the best backup center available at the time. But he ended up going to New York to play that Mitchell Robinson role, which we know is a pretty important role there and probably more important, probably a more prominent role than what the Lakers could offer him based on their addition of [Walker] Kessler.”

After the Lakers spent $130 million to get Kessler away from the Utah Jazz, they were immediately looking for his backup. The Friday (July 3) they traded Deandre Ayton to the Wizards, Drummond signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Knicks.

But even they were not done. Since Mitchell Robinson walked into free agency and signed with the Celtics, they needed to fill his void and were looking at Looney as the backup to Drummond. However, this time the Lakers won with an identical deal that Drummond signed with New York.

The Lakers’ strong preference for Drummond makes total sense given the statistical upgrade he provides on the glass. Standing as one of the most prolific rebounders in modern basketball history, Drummond has built a career defined by raw physical dominance inside the paint. Across his 14-year NBA career, the veteran center has captured four individual rebounding titles and surpassed the prestigious 10,000 career rebound milestone.

With elite skills matching Dennis Rodman and Dwight Howard, he currently ranks 27th in the All-Time rebounds list with 11,513 career rebounds. While the Lakers are deficient in the paint and Ayton’s rebounding left little to be desired, Drummond would’ve effortlessly generated extra possessions. That easily made him a coveted asset for championship contenders looking to bolster their interior presence.

The inability to lure Drummond to Southern California does however show the Lakers might be facing limitations to pitch to free agents. Having already acquired rising rim-protector Walker Kessler to anchor the starting unit, Los Angeles simply could not guarantee the major rotational minutes or a bigger role in JJ Redick’s lineup that was readily available on the East Coast.

With the Knicks offering him a prominent role as a backup to Karl-Anthony Towns, Drummond opted for the brighter lights of Madison Square Garden.

Despite missing out on their preferred target, landing Looney represents a good fallback option for head coach JJ Redick’s system. The 6’9″ UCLA product brings averages 5.6 rebounds, which is considered good for a role player with the limited minutes he’s had. He’s also an old school center with elite screening mechanics who could fit well with a playmaker like Luka Doncic.

His numbers across a brief stint with the New Orleans Pelicans dropped to 2.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Something that’s attributed to his misfit with the Pelicans’ style of game.

But Looney proved his durability and postseason pedigree with Stephen Curry’s Warriors. Ultimately, while the front office missed out on a historical rebounding titan, they walk away with a proven winner capable of executing the hard, unglamorous dirty work required to contend.