The Los Angeles Lakers will have to make important decisions on a number of players who can or will become free agents this summer, including Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and, of course, LeBron James. But there is another key player on their roster who will hit the open market after the end of this season.
Guard Luke Kennard, whom they acquired from the Atlanta Hawks just prior to last month’s NBA trade deadline, is in the final year of his contract. The 6-foot-5 guard has proven to be a very solid addition to their roster, as he has shown that he’s more than a 3-point specialist. According to a report by Ashish Mathur of Lakers Daily, the team has “strong interest” in keeping Kennard around on a new contract.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have strong interest in re-signing Luke Kennard this offseason, sources told Lakers Daily,” Mathur wrote.
“… The Lakers believe Kennard is a perfect fit alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and will express heavy interest in keeping the Ohio native once free agency starts, sources said.”
While Kennard is leading the league in 3-point accuracy at 48.3% this season, he also has the ability to extend plays by attacking closeouts, putting the ball on the floor and making the correct pass to keep his team’s offense executing properly. Overall, he’s averaging 8.2 points in 21 minutes a game this season.
Ever since the end of the All-Star break, Los Angeles has been shooting 38% from beyond the arc, which is third in the league. Prior to the All-Star break, it was 20th in that category, which shows the type of impact Kennard has had.
The Lakers will have as much as $60 million of salary cap space this summer, which will give them a unique opportunity to truly shape a championship-caliber roster around Doncic and Reaves, assuming Reaves sticks around on a new contract. Kennard will make a total of $11 million this season.
