Luke Kennard didn’t arrive in Southern California until Friday after his trade to the Lakers. But that didn’t stop coach JJ Redick from making it clear what one of the biggest priorities will be when Kennard starts playing for the Lakers.
Kennard comes to Los Angeles as one of the league’s best 3-point shooters – a reputation that’s well-earned considering his 44.2% shooting on 3s for his career is the second-highest mark in league history among qualified players.
But he also comes to the Lakers, who hosted the Warriors on Saturday night, with the reputation of a shooter who doesn’t shoot enough.
A shooter who’ll turn down shots, with the perception by many that he’ll protect his shooting percentages over taking tougher looks.
Among the 68 players who shoot at least 38% from beyond the arc, take at least two 3s per game and have played in at least 30 games entering Saturday, Kennard’s 3.2 3-point attempts per game ranks 54th.
“Excited about Luke,” Redick said. “I’ve known him for about 12 years now and think he’s one of the best shooters in the NBA. I’m going to highly encourage him to shoot more and not turn down shots.”
Kennard played college basketball at Duke, like Redick, before being the No. 12 pick in the 2017 draft.
And also like Redick, Kennard has thrived with being an offensive threat coming off screens.
“One of the underrated parts of his game is his ability to move and create second actions and move the basketball,” Redick said. “And you’ve seen that now at a number of his stops where you can initiate the offense through an off-ball movement, and he will just make the right play and sort of get the offense going. He’ll be a corner threat, an off-ball threat, and we’re excited to have him.”
Redick isn’t the only Laker familiar with Kennard.
Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia were teammates with Kennard in Memphis, where all three played for the Grizzlies during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
“It was a pleasure to play with Luke in Memphis,” Smart said. “One of the better shooters in this league. And he comes to work every day, and I’m excited to see him out here with us again, me and Jake, and kind of keep going what we had in Memphis.”
Even Kennard’s new teammates who aren’t as familiar with him know how they’ll benefit from his addition.
“Obviously, as everybody knows, he’s one of the best 3-point shooters in the league,” Austin Reaves said. “If he has any time and space, playing against him, if you gave him time and space, you considered it a bucket. Just being able to space the floor, a guy that knows how to play basketball, stands for the right things. It’ll be fun. Can’t wait to get to work with him.”
As excited the Lakers were to add Kennard, they expressed disappointment about Gabe Vincent, whom the Lakers traded to the Hawks along with their 2032 second-round pick for Kennard, no longer being on the team.
“His teammates loved him,” Redick said of Vincent. “His coaches loved him. From a professionalism standpoint, just embodied everything that is good about this game. And I do think the way he finished last season and the way he started preseason, we all felt like that he was going to really have a breakout year for us here. Unfortunately just had a bunch of injuries.
“He’s a good player and an even better person. I’ve told Gabe this many times, we’re all grateful that we got to work with him and be around him. We’re very appreciative of him.”