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GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 30, 2019

Kevon Looney

Oakland, California

Q. How much more ready are you for this season maybe than the past two seasons, and do you consider your role changing at all in light of Willie's injury?
KEVON LOONEY: I think my role is going to change a little bit without Willie, probably be more minutes out there for our bigs and younger guys. We're going to be dependent on Willie this year to bring something different for our team, a lot of athletic speed that he has. We're going to miss him for training camp and whenever he comes back, I know he's going to be ready and he's going to fit right in. But no, until he comes back we've got to hold down the fort. Steve likes to play center by committee anyway. I think everybody is going to have a chance to go out there and show what they can do and show what they can provide at that position.

Q. Steve was talking about how you're going to take a bigger role with this team. How much different is the lead-up to the season for you and how much more excited are you about taking on a bigger role and playing more of a leadership role?
KEVON LOONEY: Really excited. Preparation-wise it's kind of the same for me. I go out every summer and work hard and prepare myself to play a lot of minutes and be ready for the opportunity. When I was a rookie, Steve always told me your opportunity is going to come, you've got to be ready when it happens. Every summer I prepare for that, and this year I've been even more excited because I know I have a chance to play a big role and be part of a team that's special and be one of those main guys. Really excited coming into this season and to show my team and the rest of the league what I can do, that I can provide for our team. I've got a lot to show, and I'm ready for it.

Q. Kevon, first of all, do you have any limitations in terms of what you can do and can't do health-wise?
KEVON LOONEY: No. I've been cleared to go all the way full contact. Still just going to watch it and make sure I'm taking care of my body and doing the little things to stay healthy. But as far as on the court, I'm worry-free. I'm out there, just go out there and play my heart out, and I'm healthy.

Q. In your time here, you've been kind of accustomed to practicing against big guys.
KEVON LOONEY: Yeah.

Q. Zaza, D-West, Damian, whatever. Those guys are all gone now. How different is it now that you're practicing with guys that are your size or maybe smaller?
KEVON LOONEY: It's definitely going to be different. We've got a lot of guys that are smaller but extremely fast and quick, and as a big like me, I have to be able to hold a lot of different positions and play a whole lot of different styles, so I take pride in being able to play different guys like that, and we play a lot of small ball and play -- the NBA is playing a lot of small ball, so this year in training camp I had an opportunity to really practice for that, got a lot of bigs on our team that can shoot the three and that can space the floor, so it's going to be a great challenge for training camp getting ready for the regular season and seeing a lot of different looks, and you know, all the past years I used to come out of training camp hurt and really sore from banging with guys like Zaza and D-West and DeMarcus last year, so I'm already used to that, so I'm ready for everything.

Q. Kevon, you talked about how with by center by committee you haven't needed to do it in previous years, but how many minutes per game would you be comfortable with if let's say if you had the opportunity to kind of choose it?
KEVON LOONEY: I'm ready for whatever Steve wants to throw at me. I know my first couple years I was only able to play about 20 to 25 and actually be productive. Steve actually challenged me this off-season to be able to play more, up to 30 minutes a game if I have to, and I think I'm ready to play 30, 30-plus if I have to. In years prior I had injuries that kind of limited my minutes and I really had to watch my body, but after a couple years after those injuries my body feels great, and I'm used to the NBA season and the rigors of it, and I think I can play 30 plus minutes if I have to.

Q. Seems like with the new personnel there could be changes in the offensive style a little bit or at least tweaks to the way you guys have played in recent years. How will that affect the center position? Will you envision yourself setting more screens, screen-and-roll kind of situations? How do you think it's going to trickle down and affect you?
KEVON LOONEY: I think we might play more pick-and-roll. We have two of the best pick-and-roll players in the game in D'Angelo and Steph, so I think Steve is going to coach to the strengths of our best players, and we have Draymond who's probably one of the best pick-and-roll guys in the league, too. I know I've got to be ready to be able to play pick-and-roll and be in the pick and be on the finishing end of a dunk or so, so those are things I've been practicing hard all summer, and I'm not sure exactly what Steve is going to tweak and what he's going to do, but I know it's going to fit the personnel of our team, and I think that I'm going to get a lot more lay-ups and dunks playing with D'Angelo and Steph and Draymond, those guys are three of the best playmakers in the league, and I'm looking forward to having fun and catching lobs and hitting shots and getting a lot of points off of those guys.

Q. With the costal cartilage fracture it took about two months to heal. How were you able to work around that injury to keep conditioning and your physique on point heading into this camp?
KEVON LOONEY: It was tough. I'm used to playing basketball throughout the whole summer and that was my big thing I used to do for cardio, and that took my game to the next level, but I had to change it up this summer and do a lot more weights and a lot more cardio off the court. But I was able to do stuff on the court like just get a lot of jump shots, a lot of shots and a lot of things like that, but I didn't get a chance to do a lot of live contact, but I feel good about my body and my rhythm, and I'm looking forward to getting after it this training camp and being able to play a lot of five on five, so I'm excited for that. The injury was -- it always sucks to be injured during summertime, but I was able to deal with it. It's not my first time being injured in the summertime, so I know what it takes to come into the season prepared.

Q. You're one of the few returning guys on this team. Does the vibe feel different at all coming from five straight Finals before that? Does it feel like a different type of team?
KEVON LOONEY: Definitely a different type of team. It feels like that because in the years prior we had a lot more older guys, a lot of guys that have been in the league 10 years plus and a lot of veteran guys that have been through the league and seen it all and knew what it took to win already. So it's going to be a little different. We have a lot of younger guys and a lot of new faces, so we've got to build that chemistry. Years prior we kind of knew what the rotation was going to be coming into the season and everybody knew their role and knew what to expect. This year we've still got to find that chemistry and adding a big piece like D'Angelo is going to be big and that's going to take some adjustment. I think we have great talent, and I think we have -- Bob and Steve always do a great job getting great locker room guys who care about the team and not themselves, and I think they're going to fit in just right, and I think we're going to learn each other's chemistry really quick. I'm really excited to get to know everybody, get on a roll with each other and have a lot of fun.

Q. Going back to the pick-and-rolls, how comfortable are you popping and shooting in those situations? Do you think we'll see more of that?
KEVON LOONEY: I'm really comfortable with that. That's something that I practice every day, and I've been practicing. But in years prior, it was best for me to roll. We had so much shooting around the pick-and-roll that my job was to roll and to finish that when I got to the basket. This year might be a little different. Depending on what Steve wants me to do, I'm comfortable popping and I'm comfortable rolling. Whatever the lineup is going to call for what I need to do, but I'm comfortable with both, and I'm really excited to play pick-and-roll with D'Angelo. I learned Steph already. I know how to play pick-and-roll with him really well, and now I'm excited to play with D'Angelo in the pick-and-roll. I think it's going to open my game up, and I think we could be a good duo.

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