Rumors

Luke Kennard has the opportunity to achieve a feat that even Redick didn’t accomplish. Kennard entered Tuesday’s home game against the Timberwolves shooting a league-best 50% on 3s. There have only been six players who’ve qualified for 3-point percentage leaderboard who’ve made at least half of their 3s in a season: Jon Sundvold (1988-89), Steve Kerr (1989-90; 1994-95; 1995-96), Detlef Schrempf (1994-95), Tim Legler (1995-96), Jason Kapono (2006-07) and Kyle Korver (2009-10).  “It’s incredibly impressive,” Redick said of Kennard. “He’ll have a six-minute run and take one, and he’ll sit for 15 minutes in real time and then come back in and take another one. It’s really impressive. I thought he was a really good shooter at Duke. He’s developed into an elite shooter and really just a fantastic playmaker.” Redick, whose career-high in 3-point shooting for a season was 47.5% while with the Clippers in 2015-16, can appreciate the challenge of maintaining such a high 3-point percentage. “I remember one year, Jason Kapono, we played them late in the regular season, and he kept spotting up from 19 feet,” the Lakers coach quipped. “He didn’t want to mess with it.”

New York Post

Dave McMenamin: There’s only been eight times in NBA history when a player finished a season shooting 50% from 3, accomplished by six guys (Steve Kerr did it three times). Luke Kennard is currently at 50% with 18 games to go. JJ Redick: “He’s developed into an elite shooter”

x.com

Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick says he would make 88 or 89 catch-and-shoot 3s out of a hundred in practice. How many would Luke Kennard make? “90 … I’d probably be just right above him”

x.com

Jaxson Hayes has been just as good, if not better, as an interior defender over the course of the season.  He’s a more forceful roller out of the pick and roll, which will be especially important Sunday if the Knicks hedge and recover on pick and rolls with Doncic as the ball handler like they did significantly in the Feb. 1 matchup at Madison Square Garden, which the Knicks won 112-100. Hard rolls from an athletic center who can provide vertical spacing opens up lob opportunities, which Doncic is one of the best at delivering. “Him and Luka have a really good connection right now,” Luke Kennard said. “They’re playing really well and playing off each other.” Factor in Hayes’ improved playmaking out of the short roll and the Knicks will have to ensure they don’t give Hayes too much of a runway while also trying to contain Doncic.  “I love playing with Jaxson,” Doncic said. “This year, his improvement is unbelievable. He understands, I think this year even more, how to play with me. We’ve been working on that. So playing with him is very special for me.”

New York Post

L.A. should be at full strength when it opens up the final 28 games of the regular season schedule Friday against the LA Clippers. "Our success is going to come down to, obviously, I think our health," James said. "Our coaching staff is putting us in the right position. I think they're going to give us a game plan every night, but when it comes to what we have to work with, we have to actually go out and see it. We haven't been privy to having that opportunity much this year." And if the Lakers can get a clean bill of health down the stretch and into the playoffs? "It is hard to say," James said. "Because this is a new group. We added [Deandre Ayton], Marcus [Smart] and Jake [LaRavia] and we just got a new acquisition on our ballclub a couple games ago [in Luke Kennard]. So, it's too hard to really say what we're capable of."

ESPN

But Luke Kennard isn’t just a shooter. The Clippers valued him because he could also serve as a ballhandler and playmaker. Redick will look to tap into that as well, especially if Reaves returns to the starting lineup. “I think one of the underrated parts of him, he’s been — in the half court — like kind of an initiator of action, if that makes sense,” Redick said of Kennard. “We call it ‘ear,’ but you know, playing out of ear, where he gets that little single (Allen) Iverson cut and into a drive or into a side pick-and-roll. “You can play him off-ball, obviously, to initiate action. But he’s able to just consistently make the right play. And because of that, the ball movement thing, he can be a guy that starts your offense in some ways.”

New York Times

Luke Kennard on playing with LeBron James: It's definitely a full circle moment. Being from Ohio, watching him obviously in Cleveland growing up playing for his AAU team. I've been a big fan of his since I was young. And it's definitely something special when you're putting on the same jersey as him and going out there and competing with him. And obviously I played against him for the last nine years. It's obviously special watching him as a player, but it's a lot different when you're playing with him and the things he can do and obviously he went on that little run by himself there in in the second half that really kind of got us going and got us some momentum and it's special to watch.

YouTube

Luke Kennard, who was acquired Thursday from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent, played his role well. He had 10 points in his first game as a Laker, coming off the bench to go four for seven from the field and two for four from beyond the three-point line. He also had two assists and two rebounds. Kennard impressed James with his play. “I mean, it showed tonight, obviously. I mean, some of the ones that he had when he was driving, penetrating, kickout, some of them we didn’t make, but it’s just a great basketball play,” James said. “So, it’s going to help us have another ball handler, for sure. But then his shooting, how elite his shooting is, is going to help us as well, tremendously.”

Los Angeles Times

Law Murray: Asked JJ Redick about on-ball Luke Kennard -- JJ said Thursday that Luke can create second actions and move the basketball JJ says today that Luke is able to "just consistently make the right play" and that "he can be a guy that starts your offense in some ways"

Twitter

Law Murray: Luke Kennard is available to make his Lakers debut tonight vs Warriors

x.com

Rui Hachimura on Gabe Vincent being traded to Atlanta for Luke Kennard: Gabe, I'm going to miss him. He was a great teammate. He was one of the leaders in here. He brought us a lot of energy, good energy, positive energy no matter what, up and down. He was always trying to keep us in the right direction. He was a very big part of our team’s chemistry. So, we for sure we're going to miss him. Luke, he's one of the best shooters in the league. So he's going to bring us that. W’eve been struggling from the three-point line this whole season. So he's going to bring us more spacing and all that.

YouTube

Dave McMenamin: “He’s one of the best shooters in the NBA and I’m going to encourage him to shoot more” - JJ Redick offers his first thoughts on the Lakers trading for Luke Kennard, while praising Gabe Vincent for his time with the Lakers

x.com

Dave McMenamin: The Lakers make the Luke Kennard acquisition official. He’ll wear No. 10 for the purple and gold

x.com

‪Brad Rowland‬: The Hawks haven't announced the Porzingis and Kennard trades yet. BUT They have updated their injury report to rule out both players under the "trade pending" designation.

bsky.app