OAKLAND — With each new meaningful playoff minute, Kevon Looney can make his free-agency cash register ring a little louder.
But it might not be the Warriors doing the bidding.
The team took a calculated risk in October when they declined to pick up Looney’s $2.2 million option for next season. Suddenly, though, the 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward has never looked more valuable — and the biggest games are still to come.
After three years as an afterthought, Looney emerged as a pivotal chess piece and could be called upon to help slow the Houston Rockets when the Warriors open the Western Conference finals on Monday.