Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford spoke highly of the Detroit Pistons new shooting guards in an interview with Keith Langlois.
This summer, the Detroit Pistons made substantial improvements to their backcourt depth. They drafted Luke Kennard, and traded Marcus Morris for the defensively adept Avery Bradley.
Following the Pistons preseason matchup with Charlotte, the Hornets head coach had only positive things to say about the new guards in town.
From Langlois’ column on the Pistons website:
"“In Avery Bradley he’s got a player he views as a superb defender but more than just a stopper. And in Luke Kennard, the Pistons have a rookie the Bobcats considered long and hard with the 11th pick before nabbing freshman guard Malik Monk of Kentucky.”"
Each team probably considers drafting nearly every player on the board, but to hear that Charlotte was seriously considering Kennard is food for thought.
That means the Pistons would have grabbed Monk with the 12th pick. More importantly, the Hornets deem the Kentucky standout a better player than Kennard. Hmm.
In Clifford’s opinion, Avery Bradley is much more than a defensive stopper.
"“Bradley is, in my opinion, a lot more than a defensive stopper. If you go back through his career, he’s had a number of absolutely enormous offensive games in playoffs and games where they were playing to make the playoffs.”"
Clifford isn’t wrong by any means. Bradley’s offensive capabilites have been highly overlooked following his uniform change to Detroit.
In the Eastern Conference Finals playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averaged 19.2 points on 41 percent shooting through five games.
Clifford also says he wouldn’t have been opposed to the Hornets drafting Kennard.
"“Terrific shooter, high IQ and for me, I always love the guys that have a football background. I think they have more of an aptitude for details, for execution, and I think you see that very much in how he plays.”"
Kennard was an All-State quarterback for Franklin High School, before committing to the Duke University basketball program.
Approval from opposing head coaches is always a positive thing. They can only be honest, as they have no registered bias for a player not on their roster.
Next: Grading the Pistons loss to the Hornets
The Detroit Pistons dropped their preseason opener against the Hornets, 108-106. They will play the Atlanta Hawks Friday at 7:00 PM EST.