The Los Angeles Lakers have completed their first trade of the 2025-26 season. In it, Los Angeles swapped veteran guard Gabe Vincent and his expiring contract for a three-point shooting specialist in Luke Kennard who can help the team address its woeful efficiency from beyond the arc.
Unfortunately, the Lakers also sent a message to struggling second-year guard Dalton Knecht that they may not have intended to: Defense is optional.
Kennard is one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA. He boasts a career mark of 44.2 percent from beyond the arc and checks in at an otherworldly 49.7 percent in 2025-26. As such, it's easy to see why Los Angeles targeted him at the trade deadline.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Lakers have made a clear commitment to the sharpshooter by swapping Vincent and a 2032 second-round draft pick for Kennard.
The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Luke Kennard, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2026
It's a puzzling move on multiple fronts, however, with none quite as confusing as the mixed message it sends to Knecht during a trying second season.
Lakers show Dalton Knecht it's OK to struggle on defense with Luke Kennard trade
Kennard has long been known as a player whose defensive inconsistency is the only thing standing between him and a more consistent role. He's averaged upward of 25 minutes per game just once over the past four seasons, checking in at 20.5 in 2025-26.
A regular explanation from observers has been that Kennard is too easily targeted in isolation for teams to justify playing him any more than they have.
That's been evident in 2025-26, as Kennard ranks in the 30th percentile in perimeter isolation defense, per Basketball Index. Furthermore, opponents are shooting 4.7 percent better from the field when he's the primary defender, including an increase of 6.5 percent within six feet of the rim.
As such, it's fair to question why the Lakers would be willing to give up their last remaining second-round draft pick for Kennard when they refuse to play Knecht more minutes due to similar issues.
Lakers gave up their last second-round pick for even less defense
Los Angeles currently ranks No. 24 in defensive rating, which offers a fair explanation for why Knecht is averaging just 11.7 minutes per game. His own woes on defense have made it difficult to play him alongside three players who aren't necessarily known for their own consistency in that regard in Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves.
Though Kennard is an obvious upgrade over Knecht on offense at this stage of their respective careers, the consistency in what's required to be a fit is at least questionable.
Knecht's minutes relaxation began in 2024-25. He shot 40.0 percent from beyond the arc when he played at least 20 minutes, yet he only reached that plateau in 36 of 78 games. Fast forward to 2025-26 and defensive inconsistency continues to be the topic that's capped him at less than 12 minutes per contest.
The Kennard trade proves that it was always about how ready a first and now second-year player was to be elite in their role and not a matter of what they offered outside of it.