3 reasons why the Detroit Pistons shouldn’t trade Luke Kennard
By Eli Bashi
2. Won’t Get a Better Return Than What Luke is
It’s a bit unknown what Kennard’s true trade value is at this stage of his career, only because he’s still on his rookie scale contract, and he’s dealt with some injuries over past few years. Those injuries might scare teams off from trading for him and the value that the Pistons would get back from a Kennard trade would end up being a net loss for the franchise.
It also seems counterproductive to trade a young player as you’re headed into a rebuilding situation. Seems like he would be a guy the Pistons would want to build their team around as he’s shown he is more than capable of competing on the highest level whether it be as a starter or coming off the bench.
light. opinion. It's time to start the youth movement
If a Kennard trade nets a first round pick, it’s probably going to be from a contender, meaning a late first round pick. There’s a very low chance that the Pistons would be able to find a guy with the same skills as Luke Kennard at that 20-30 level in the draft. If the 2017 draft was redone, he probably still gets drafted around the same pick or maybe he would even go top 10.
He’s shown that he can be a reliable scorer and facilitator and his shot is as sweet as ever. If the Pistons are serious about a rebuild, it’s tough to not see Kennard as a big part of that rebuild, and an important piece of their growing young core that should be looking to add more prospects in this year’s draft.