For the Detroit Pistons, continue to develop Luke Kennard

Luke Kennard has dealt with injuries in his second year after a promising rookie year. For the Detroit Pistons, Kennard’s development is everything.

For Luke Kennard, shooting has been everything.

It has always been who he is. Shooting is what made him a D-1 college player at Duke. It made him a lottery pick in the NBA Draft and it is a skill that will keep the young two guard in the league for a very long time.

Having already been a 40 percent shooter from deep in his career, this is why the former No. 12 overall pick’s recent struggles shooting the ball have been so confounding for fans and, presumably, coaches alike.

We saw this two games ago against the Memphis Grizzlies, when Kennard passed on an open shot in the fourth quarter — though he went on to hit two threes later on — and we saw it over and over again during the month of December, when he closed out 2018 shooting 24 percent from behind the arc, including five contests where he failed to convert on a deep ball.

The success of fellow NBA sophomore Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz has further exasperated the issue.

Amidst a flurry of ESPN Trade Machine speculations and continuous banter on #PistonsTwitter, fans still are filled with anger, angst and the like when thinking back to the 2017 NBA Draft, when Kennard was selected one pick ahead of Mitchell.

While Kennard, by all means, had a successful rookie season — he shot 41.5 percent from three-point range — Mitchell contested for Rookie of the Year honors, further testing the patience of an already tired fan base.

When coach Dwane Casey was hired to succeed Stan Van Gundy, hope swirled that he would release Kennard from his rookie leash, letting him flourish in his second season with the Detroit Pistons.

If the Detroit Pistons (17-22) were bottom-feeders in the Eastern Conference, those minutes would be easy to find for a developmental player (though, they may not be far away from that).

Instead, Casey and the team are trying to win now while also trying to hold onto hopes of grasping one of the conference’s final playoff spots. With this, comes tighter rotation minutes, the team playing who Casey believes gives it the best chance to win, and the result equals Kennard fighting for precious playing time.

Injuries have also held Kennard back in his efforts to cement himself among the rotation.

In the off-season, a knee injury caused him to miss a significant amount of time, including the Summer League. He also missed 16 games this season with a shoulder strain.

Those injuries paired with his often inconsistent play this year — he is shooting 36 percent from three this season — and a passive style of play at times have led to frustrations among fans that perceive player growth as a continual upward trajectory, as well as, by reports, Casey.

Though we all want player progression to be a steady rise, in reality there are, more often than not, many peaks and valleys along the way.

For the 22-year old Kennard, those valleys have often come in the form of a struggle to get his shot off. At 6’6″, this was never a problem for him in high school and college. However, at the NBA level, taller, longer, stronger and faster athletes make up ground better and get to open shooters more quickly. Correcting this has been something the team has said is a focus for him.

Kennard has also developed a tendency to fake himself out of position.

Casey has criticized Kennard publicly for his nasty habit of pump faking his first look, which is usually clean, only to find himself going from shooting a three to something that just makes you want to scratch your head.

The play of rookie Bruce Brown has also added to Kennard’s conundrum.

Brown’s defensive ability, paired with an ever-developing offensive game, has allowed him to fit well into the starting lineup of late. Against the Lakers on Wednesday, Brown scored eight points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Reggie Bullock (13 points against the Lakers) also has a secure place in the lineup, leading to Kennard playing a role coming off the bench, which is fine. Many players have made a career as a dominant bench player — hey Manu!

Whether he plays off the bench or as a starter isn’t the issue, continuing to develop his game is.

Now, no one is saying Kennard isn’t a player. Nor are they saying he shouldn’t have a role on this team. In fact, the combination of shooting and play-making he brings to the court is something this team is in desperate need of.

What will the end product be? Who knows. But developing young players takes time. Even Mitchell has seen a sophomore slump in his second season in the association.

Casey brought with him to Detroit Pistons a reputation as a good developer of young players. Can he work his magic again with Kennard, not to mention fellow back-court youngsters Brown and Khryi Thomas?

For a team saddled with ugly contracts and residing in cap purgatory for presumably the next two years — with little room at all to make roster adjustments — the future of the Detroit Pistons may depend on it.