Rumors

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.

marcstein.substack.com

Dave McMenamin: “I’ll always have my teammates’ backs” - Luke Kennard on his reaction to being fined $25,000 for confronting the refs at center court with Marcus Smart after Game 4

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“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.

New York Times

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.

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Mark Medina: Luke Kennard on how he processed feedback from several coaches during his NBA career that he should shoot more

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Dave McMenamin: “It’s everybody continuing to build confidence in me to be aggressive and look for my shot whenever I can. … When I see space and the rim, I'm going to look to get it up” - Luke Kennard after scoring a career playoff high 27 pts on 9-of-13 shooting (5-of-5 from 3)

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‪Law Murray 📘‬: Gabe Vincent played 10 playoff games with the Lakers Luke Kennard has more points tonight in his Lakers playoff debut (27) than Vincent had in his Lakers playoff career (21)

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Benjamin Royer: Deandre Ayton on Luke Kennard: "He is the number one shooter in the NBA so, you know, there's not much to say but, you know, he's doing it in the playoffs where it really counts. My word is speechless to be honest."

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Dan Woike: Lakers win Game 1 107-98 against the Houston Rockets. Luke Kennard with a career playoff high 27 points. LeBron James with 19-8-13. Lakers shoot 60.6 perent, hold HOU to 37.6 percent shooting and survive a 20-turnover game.

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Luke's coaches and teammates surprised him with his trophy for leading the league in 3-point percentage 🙌

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Dave McMenamin: Luke Kennard went from averaging 9.7 pts in 22.8 mins in the regular season to 15 pts in 33.3 mins per game in the playoffs in his 2nd year in DET because of injuries. “I've just kind of been thinking back to that and how I prepared,” Kennard said of his increased LAL role

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Dave McMenamin: “I don't feel much pressure going into this. … We still believe in what we have and who we're going to start the series with... And I think everybody believes in that. … Being maybe somewhat of an underdog with guys out, it kind of gives us this sense of freedom” - Luke Kennard

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LeBron James had 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in the first half, and the Los Angeles Lakers tuned up for the postseason with a 131-107 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton each had 22 points and 10 assists. James and Luke Kennard were held out of the second half as a precautionary measure, and the Lakers closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak.

ESPN

Duane Rankin: Suns at Lakers injury report: Jalen Green (knee) still listed questionable. Luke Kennard (finger) questionable. 2nd of back-to-back for Lakers. #Suns #LakeShow

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