NBA Free Agency: Kevon Looney could return as a hometown hero for the Milwaukee Bucks

Strengths

Kevon Looney has all the tools to carve out a long career for himself as an outstanding NBA defender, yet that didn’t always seem like a possibility.

Prior to the 2015 NBA Draft, one of the major question marks around Looney was what position he would play. Largely categorized as a power forward, Looney didn’t seem dynamic enough for the way that position was trending in the NBA, yet most noted he wasn’t necessarily tall enough to cope with the size he’d come up against at center.

Of course, the center position has continued to change and evolve even since then, and as the players placed at the 5 have gotten smaller and more skilled, Looney has become an increasingly natural fit at that spot in the modern-day NBA. For the many ways that Looney’s time in the NBA to date has featured notable bouts of misfortune, he’s certainly landed in the league at the right time for his skill-set.

Looney isn’t an elite athlete by any means, but he boasts obvious positives in a number of key physical attributes that allow him to thrive defensively. He’s incredibly quick, mobile and generally comfortable in motion compared to most players of his size, and he possesses a formidable 7’4″ wingspan and a standing reach of 9’2″.

The combination of those elements means Looney provides incredible versatility. Coming out of a playoffs that involved the best teams endlessly switching and hunting mismatches, Looney is about as comfortable in that environment as any big in the league.

Looney has enough quickness to keep up with smaller guards who try to burn him off the dribble — and the long arms required to block the shots of those who do get by him — while that quickness is even more effective against wings where his extra size and strength limit the avenues for opponents to get easy looks.

Having the natural gifts to do that is one thing, but Looney’s high basketball IQ also fuels his defensive work and crosses over into his offense.

Considering the caliber of his teammates in Golden State, Looney never had the opportunity to take on even the slightest semblance of a more featured offensive role, yet he showed his intelligence in the ways he was able to contribute on that end of the floor.

Looney is an excellent rim-runner and a willing screen-setter, who also boasts impressive passing ability and is unafraid of handling the ball, perhaps dating back to his high school days at point guard.

Although his jump shot has never really clicked beyond respectable mid-range shooting in the NBA, Looney did shoot 41.5 percent from deep in his sole year at UCLA, indicating there may still be time for him to regain that touch on the pro level.