The Detroit Pistons could use another shooter, and when it comes to pure 3-point shooting, there isn’t anyone better in the NBA than former Piston Luke Kennard, who is currently leading the league in 3-point percentage.
On a recent segment for NBA on NBC, writer Chris Mannix mentioned Kennard as a possibility for Detroit, noting that the Pistons could take his $11 million expiring contract into their trade exception without sending another contract out.
It might not be Kennard specifically, but this seems like the type of move the Pistons will make at the trade deadline, as Trajan Langdon is reluctant to break up this group with a big move before he really knows what he has, and the only way to find out is to see how they perform in the playoffs and evaluate from there.
Expect the Pistons to make some kind of move, even if it is not the blockbuster fever dream that some fans are hoping for, and someone like Kennard does make sense, but he also comes with obvious red flags.
Detroit Pistons: Trading for Luke Kennard would at least be cheap
The Pistons could probably land Kennard for little considering he’s on an expiring deal and is a role player on a team with a losing record. No one would give up a first-round pick for Kennard, so if the Pistons wanted to use their TPE, they could send a second-round pick or two, of which they have plenty.
The Pistons are near the bottom of the league in 3-point makes per game as well as percentage, so Kennard would at least give them a boost of shooting, as he is hitting an NBA-best 48.1 percent from long range. Kennard has led the league in 3-point percentage twice already in his career and is on his way again in this one.
We know Kennard can shoot it, but unfortunately for him, there are two sides of the floor.
Kennard is a terrible defensive player, which doesn’t fit with the culture the Pistons have built. You could say the same about Duncan Robinson, but Robinson at least competes on the defensive end and isn’t as bad as people make out.
We’ll see how that goes in the playoffs when teams start to target Robinson, but he’s been facing that his entire career and has always been able to find a way to fit into a team scheme whether it’s in Miami or Detroit.
Adding another, even worse defender would give the Pistons two players other teams could target, so you’d have to ask if Kennard’s shooting would even be worth the trouble, as he is a liability on the defensive end, a far worse one than Robinson.
Kennard might be the best pure shooter in the league, and his ridiculous 52/48/93 shooting splits put him in rare company historically, but could coach JB Bickerstaff find effective ways to hide him on defense? That’s pretty much the story of Kennard’s career.