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The Lakers are interested in retaining Marcus Smart and sharpshooter Luke Kennard, sources told ESPN. Smart, who was recruited to L.A. by Doncic and has until June 29 to exercise the final year of his contract at $5.4 million, enjoyed his role with the Lakers and is hoping for a new contract and a raise, sources said. Kennard, for his part, was on an $11 million expiring contract and has interest in making L.A. his long-term home after previously playing 2½ seasons with the LA Clippers.
Sure, there is LeBron James and Austin Reaves, two of the biggest names available. But there are, too, veterans like Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart, and swing pieces like Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes. That means that the Lakers will have some choices to make. Increasingly, word is that the Lakers like a lot of the players they have on hand, and rather than making sweeping changes to the roster, could instead bring back a lot of last season’s players with just one midrange addition worth in the $20 million AAV range, likely for a big man. Making choices on getting rid of players who helped on the floor and in the locker room–Smart and Hachimura, perhaps–won’t be easy. “They have cap space and that’s a great position to be in,” one Western Conference executive said. “But they really like their group. They’re going to have to make a painful decision or two with that roster.”
Can the Lakers afford to bring back LeBron James on a $50 million salary and still be in a position to bolster their roster. When factoring in a new contract for Austin Reaves, that answer is a resounding no. Would James compromise to return to L.A.? A $30 million salary would allow the Lakers to re-sign Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura and use the full $15 million non-tax midlevel exception. The Lakers could also act as a cap space team but without Hachimura and Kennard. They would then have $20 million in room and also the $9.4 million room exception. As for suitors outside of the Lakers, teams such as Cleveland, Denver, Golden State and New York can offer only the $3.9 million veterans minimum.
Dave McMenamin: Luke Kennard on his impending free agency says it's been an honor to play for the Lakers' organization and his goal, heading into Year 10, is to win. He says if he does not re-sign in L.A., he will always appreciate his time as a Laker.
Benjamin Royer: Luke Kennard on playing for the Lakers in LA: "It feels like the biggest stage in basketball, like it's you're in the NBA, you're playing for the Los Angeles Lakers; the spotlight is on and, and you feel it but like for me, like I love it like I love being a part of it."
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Benjamin Royer: Luke Kennard, referring to the Lakers' March run: "Our group was really close and connected through it all. And you don't always get that in the NBA, and I think just kind of shows how special this group is."
Benjamin Royer: Luke Kennard, when a reporter asked if there’s a bit of “how would the series go” when it comes to Luka Doncic being out: “When you have the league’s leading scorer out there, if he was, it definitely changes the dynamic of a team. And we know that, and obviously, we miss him.”
Benjamin Royer: Lakers say that Luke Kennard (neck soreness) has been upgraded to AVAILABLE for tonight’s Game 2 at Oklahoma City. Jarred Vanderbilt (right finger dislocation) has also been downgraded to OUT.
Benjamin Royer: JJ Redick said Luke Kennard had been dealing with neck soreness for the last few weeks. Kennard will play tonight in Game 2.
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Luke Kennard is playing on an expiring $11 million contract after arriving in a February trade from Atlanta in what was initially billed as the low-cost rental of a shooter for the rest of this season. More and more, though, I'm hearing rival team strategists project Kennard to be part of the Lakers' future plans. Kennard will be a non-Bird free agent, but there are multiple pathways that the Lakers could explore to keep him in the fold in a nod to the role he has earned in purple and gold under fellow Duke alumnus JJ Redick.
“Coming out of high school to college, I wanted to think I can just do exactly what I was doing, but I knew that wasn’t the case. And same with the NBA,” Luke Kennard told The Athletic. But yeah, I think it was definitely a challenge at first to figure out what I was going to be at each level. But then once you find it, you just gotta maximize it and try to do the best that you can at it.” Kennard’s made 44.2 percent of his 3s since entering the league, the best percentage of any player over his nine seasons. This year, he shot 47.8 percent from deep while cruising past the 50/40/90 benchmarks in the three common shooting categories (53.3 field goal percentage, 47.8 3-point percentage and 91.3 free-throw percentage), all while playing a career-high 78 games.
NBA Communications: Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart has been fined $35,000 for questioning the integrity of game officials and Lakers guard Luke Kennard has been fined $25,000 for directing inappropriate language toward game officials, it was announced today by James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations. The incidents occurred following the conclusion of the Houston Rockets' 115-96 victory over the Lakers in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on April 26 at Toyota Center.