The Golden State Warriors are coming off an incredible season in which they won the NBA Championship. The Warriors were able to keep basically their whole roster intact this offseason, but with many teams in the West making improvements to their roster, the Warriors have to find a way to maintain the success from last season. Kevon Looney was Golden State's first round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and he showed a lot of potential in summer league, but he has reportedly undergone hip surgery and will be out a little while, according to Real GM.
The initial timetable being reported for Looney is four to six months, but that is not set in stone as Looney has had hip issues previously. In fact, it was issues with Looney's hip that caused him to drop to the Warriors at number 30 in the draft. All of last season, Looney was projected as a probable lottery pick because of his size and ability to stretch the floor, but teams were scared off by the hip injury.
The best case scenario for Looney is that he returns at the end of December, but it seems more likely that he will either return towards the very end of the season or just sit out the entire year. The surgery was arthroscopic to repair a torn labrum in the hip, but the doctors and Warriors believe that Looney will be able to make a full recover and that this should not hinder the rest of his NBA career.
Looney was not going to be guaranteed minutes as a rookie, as the Warriors are an extremely deep team, but it would have been possible for him to earn some. Looney is a 6-foot-9 forward who spent one season at UCLA, where he had a great freshman season for the surprise sweet sixteen team. Looney averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while making 47 percent of his field goal attempts and 42 percent of his three pointers.
Looney's NBA career will have a delayed start, but fortunately for him, it seems as though he will be back to full strength after he rehabs the injury. The Warriors will likely be just fine without Looney this upcoming season, but down the road he may be a huge help to them, as he is a very talented player that, if he stays healthy, could end up being the steal of the 2015 draft.
