The Los Angeles Lakers made a trade yesterday! Just one, but hopefully for them, it will be about quality over quantity in this situation. JJ Redick already clued everyone in on how Luke Kennard and the Lakers can get the most out of each other this season.
For anyone who missed it, Los Angeles sent Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the previously-mentioned Kennard. While the organization has stressed Vincent will be missed, taking a quick temperature of the room would reveal that Lakers fans do not share those feelings.
After taking some time to bid farewell to his Atlanta-bound guard, Redick shifted his focus over to the brand-new arrival in Kennard. The Lakers coach made it clear he enjoyed what his new sharpshooter brought to the table, but there was also a subtle message about an adjustment that needed to be made for his time in Los Angeles to go smoothly.
"Excited about Luke," Redick told reporters. "I've known him for 12 years now. I think he's one of the best shooters in the NBA. I'm gonna highly encourage him to shoot more and not turn down shots."
Luke Kennard must up his shooting volume to thrive with the Lakers
The last part of Redick's statement there is the important part. Once you get past the incredible mark of 49.7 percent from beyond the arc this season, another statistic immediately sticks out. Kennard is only putting up 3.2 attempts per game from deep.
That volume is actually the second lowest Kennard has put up in his entire NBA career. The only season in which the nine-year veteran shot less was 2017-18 with the Detroit Pistons. The former Pistons wing only hoisted 2.7 attempts per game from 3-point land that year.
It's not like Kennard does not have seasons of putting up solid volume. 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2023-24 were all campaigns in which the well-traveled sharpshooter averaged at least six attempts per game from downtown.
Each of those seasons have pretty healthy percentages too, without any clear drop-off coming from Kennard shooting more. In 2019-20, the figure was 39.9 percent. In 2021-22, Kennard was at 44.9 percent (leading the NBA). In 2023-24, the veteran marksman still stood tall with 45.0 percent.
This year has been completely absent of that willingness to shoot the ball. Sam Allred of Soaring Down South offered valuable insight from a recent write-up on Kennard.
Allred wrote, "Kennard’s high percentage is the byproduct of his most toxic trait. He simply does not shoot the ball enough. ... To put Kennard’s hesitance in a different context, Kennard ranks 13th on the team in 3pt attempts per 100 possessions."
The Hawks writer clarified that statistic would include G League players and Trae Young. However, his assessment stood by the lackluster volume making the elite percentage feel like what he called empty calories.
Lakers fans can probably draw some comparisons (even if they are not entirely perfect) to Rui Hachimura here. Hachimura has shot more per game (4.1 attempts) than Kennard. Even so, at a 43.8 percentage, no one would not be upset to see Hachimura put more of those up.
The Lakers stars are more than capable of creating giftwrapped perimeter looks for someone like Kennard. To Redick's original point, the newest member of the team needs to let the ball fly.