Clippers add depth in acquiring shooting guard Luke Kennard from the Pistons

Luke Kennard (Google Images)

According to the Canadian Press on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, and the Brooklyn Nets were involved in a three-way trade. The primary player was shooting guard Luke Kennard of Middletown, Ohio, who was traded from the Pistons to the Clippers.

The Pistions received the Nets’ first-round pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday (Brooklyn originally selected small forward Saddiq Bey out of Villanova). Meanwhile, the Clippers traded shooting guard Landry Shamet to the Nets.

Kennard, who is 24 years old, had his finest NBA season in 2019-20, as he averaged 15.8 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, and 3.5 rebounds per game. He had a field goal percentage of .442, a three-point percentage of .399, and a free throw percentage of .893.

Kennard’s best NBA game of his career was the Pistons’ season opener in the 2019-20 regular season. There he scored a career-high 30 points coming off the bench in a 119-110 win over the Indiana Pacers on October 23, 2019.

However, injuries have impacted Kennard throughout his career. He missed over a month of action during the 2018-19 season with a shoulder injury, and then missed the last 36 games of the Pistons’ 2019-20 season with a knee injury.

In Los Angeles, expect Kennard to back up Kawhi Leonard at the small forward position. Kennard will get his minutes this year, but will probably see a significant drop in playing time compared to his career-high 32.9 minutes per game in 2019-20. Also this past year you saw Kennard start 25 of 28 games with the Pistons. That is unlikely to happen this year for Kennard in southern California.

Expect the Clippers to be very active in the free agent market, which starts Friday. It is likely Los Angeles will go this route in trying to upgrade their supporting cast around Leonard and Paul George.

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