WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND, CA — Back on June 8th, 2016, hours before the Golden State Warriors were getting ready to play Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena, Kevon Looney was sitting alone at a courtside seat, watching some of his teammates shoot around.
That’s when we asked if he was looking forward to playing in Summer League, and he responded that he wouldn’t be ready by then.
Looney was drafted by the Warriors with a known injury to his right hip, and underwent successful surgery on it last August. However eight months later, Looney had to have another surgery, this time on his left hip, as reported by Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area this past April:
Though Looney recently had been working out at the team facility in Oakland, he has over the past seven weeks been consistently listed on the injury report, which indicated he was experiencing soreness and inflammation in his right hip.
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The latest procedure, however, was on Looney’s left hip to repair a torn labrum.
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“As we understand these things,” one member of the organization recently told CSNBayArea.com, “if you have this surgery on one hip, it’s not unusual to also have it on the other hip.”
Late last month on June 21st, general manager Bob Myers addressed reporters during media availability before the NBA Draft.
There, Vice President of Public Relations Raymond Ridder gave the following statement: “The doctors are saying he’s making really good progress. The goal will be for him to be ready early next season. Whether that means training camp or the start of next season, we’re not sure.”
Confirming Looney’s absence from Summer League, Myers told LetsGoWarriors, “Wish he could, but he can’t. And hopefully for training camp, he’s ready to go.”
All is not lost on the excitement of the Warriors’ Summer League team, however, as Ognjen Kuzmic makes a return and will presumably vie for a backup center roster spot, with 2016 Draft pick Damian Jones already under contract.
Jones will not play in Summer League, either, as he’s sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle. He had surgery on it a week before the Draft and is expected to miss up to six months, which is around December.
Also under contract for the league minimum is guard Patrick McCaw, whom the Warriors drafted last month after purchasing the 38th pick from the Milwaukee Bucks for $2.4 million.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via NBAE/Getty)
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