Detroit Pistons impressed with Kennard so far
Stan Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons were very excited when they got the opportunity to draft Luke Kennard, particularly since the team lacked depth at the position last season, and had an inability to hit from beyond the arc. Still, Van Gundy questioned how much of a role Kennard would be able to play due to Kennard’s lack of dedication on the defensive side of the ball. Fast forward a couple of months, and Van Gundy is changing his tune.
The Detroit Pistons expected the offensive game that Luke Kennard displayed in the Orlando Summer League, but they didn’t expect to see athleticism and quickness on the defensive end.
Overall, Stan Van Gundy has been really impressed by Kennard, based on what he’s seen so far.
"“Pretty much what we thought offensively, maybe even did a better job passing the ball than I thought,” Van Gundy said. “He’s able to make plays off the dribble, that nice change of pace, and things I hadn’t seen a lot of. He really has a great feel for the game and how to play in addition to clearly his ability to shoot the ball….“We’ve seen that a lot. He’s got great mental toughness,” Van Gundy said. “The thing I have great confidence in is that as he runs into challenges in the league – and everybody does and he’ll be no exception – I just think he’s a smart guy who’s adaptable. I think he’ll figure out a way to combat it. I’ve got great confidence in his ability to do that….“The thing I didn’t know that he showed me is he has the ability to move his feet defensively. Now, he’s still got a long way to go in terms of handling some of the other things, rotations and things like that. But he certainly showed that he can get down in a stance and move his feet. I did not have a good feel for that going into the draft, so that was a positive.”"
A few things stood out to me when I watched Kennard in the Orlando Summer League too: He’s an excellent passer, he shows up in the big moments of games, and he could be a passable defender some day.
My takeaway from Kennard on the defensive side of the ball, is that his issues at Duke seemed to be more of an effort issue, than an athletic issue. Make no mistake, however, I don’t think that’s an area that he can become great in, because he simply isn’t an upper echelon athlete.
While I may not be as impressed with Kennard defensively as Van Gundy is, I have equally high hopes that he can be a very good player, and have a very long career. Kennard’s size and skill-set is something that every team can use, and something the Pistons have simply lacked in Van Gundy’s time in Detroit.
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Hopefully Kennard brings enough this offseason to warrant a rotational spot, because the Pistons could use his shooting touch sooner than later.