The Los Angeles Lakers made only one move at the recent trade deadline, acquiring Luke Kennard. The decision to bring in Kennard, who is on an expiring contract, came amid expectations that the team would add more players with both shooting and defensive skills.
General manager Rob Pelinka explained his approach to the deadline, saying he remained aggressive in pursuing deals but ultimately chose to maintain flexibility for the future. Kennard’s performance since joining the Lakers has drawn positive attention.
Head coach JJ Redick highlighted Kennard’s impact on the team’s offense after a decisive win against the Golden State Warriors. “Boy, like, Luke Kennard just, he just starts the blender for us,” Redick said. “We frankly have not had a ton of blender starters. Obviously, like Luka (Dončić) gets two on the ball, AR (Austin Reaves) will get two on the ball, LeBron (James) will get two on the ball but just to be able to create a closeout and then make the right read and right play from there. I thought our guys were incredibly unselfish tonight. It started with that starting group and then I thought Luke was huge for our offense tonight.”
The Lakers’ bench production has been among the lowest in the league this season. Redick noted that Kennard’s contributions as a reserve provide new options for their rotation and praised his approach during games.
“He’s got a really good ‘we score’ mentality,” Redick said. “A play can be for him, but he’s gonna hunt out the best shot and play for the team, and all of the guys benefit from that when the ball moves. I mean, look, I called an ATO for him in the second half. He scores on it. Could’ve shot it off the initial screen, created the blender, eventually got it back and hits a step-back 3. We run it again, and this is where he’s such a cerebral player. Pat Spencer tries to top block him, and he screens his own into Jake’s guy and Smart hits Jake for a layup. That’s just connective offense right there and that’s what Luke does.”
Kennard is seen as an important addition alongside key players such as Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James due to his shooting ability as well as other offensive skills.
Luka Doncic also expressed confidence in Kennard despite having played only a few games together so far.
