Luke Kennard got a DNP-CD today: Worst move in the summer?

[flow]

Luke Kennard has played his way completely out of the rotation on the Clippers. Anyone else surprised by this? Last year looked like he was on the verge of breaking out.

I know his defense is terrible, but offensively he is pretty good. I know he’s had a confidence issue and plays almost scared at times. But I never seen this coming. I figured he’d flourish in LA.

So what do they do with him now? They’ve completely tanked his value. It’s hard to move a 64 million dollar contract when other teams know he doesn’t even make your rotation.

Discuss.

I see it a bit differently. For a guy who has confidence/passiveness issues, a deep team with several alpha personalities is the wrong place to expect a change.

.

[Texas Chuck]

Pistons fan trying to dunk on the Clippers right now is funny. Though turning Kennard and all the 2nds into Bey was certainly a good transaction for the Pistons.

I think Kennard will be fine next year when the actual extension kicks in because Lou will be gone. Just hard for a team to play both of those guys. He'll be slightly overpaid, but Kennard anchoring a bench unit with with of Kawhi/PG will work just fine moving forward. So this year just view him as the rookie contract he is, no big deal.

I’m not doing that at all. I like Kennard. Just surprised by this. So... respectfully, you’re wrong here.

My apologies. I shouldn't have made that assumption. You are correct to call me on that. I meant it mostly light-hearted, but that's no excuse either. My post didn't need that to make my larger point.

[Synciere]

This is why you don't premium money to players when they only have one skill.

Bertans is another. 80 million dollar 5 year deal. And for what? They get hot for one year and are borderline rotation fodder the next. Stop paying money to 3-ball specialist with zero other talent and this wouldn't happen.

16 per isnt premium money though.

[Han Solo]

There were times last year offensively he looked like he was going to take a major leap in this league. His shot is butter and he can create off the dribble.

I’m shocked he’s not playing.

[clyde21]

Kawhi might actually dip outta there. I'm surprised this isnt being discussed more. That team looks like they are going to struggle to improve the roster or sign that Pg we all know they need.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/LAC.html
Their cap situation isnt ideal, they have no draft picks, and they seem like they dont have players who fit. All they have is that its close to San Diego, where kawhi is from.

Kawhi's not going anywhere, he's staying in LA, he has his rings already

[Statlanta]

He reminds me of OKC Kyle Singler. An overvalued scrub

[Benedict_Boozer]

I think the Clippers panicked a bit, they had to overpay Morris because you lose both him and Trezz for nothing that is hard to stomach while your cross-town neighbor was making additions. The Kennard move just seemed unnecessary, Shamet is trash and they got 2nd rounders but still seemed like a dumb move because it didn't address their need at PG.

Still you are talking about a top 5 team in the league at worst, they will be fine. Just stands out because their FO was so strong last summer.

[Lockdown504090]

Kawhi might actually dip outta there. I'm surprised this isnt being discussed more. That team looks like they are going to struggle to improve the roster or sign that Pg we all know they need.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/LAC.html
Their cap situation isnt ideal, they have no draft picks, and they seem like they dont have players who fit. All they have is that its close to San Diego, where kawhi is from.

Kawhi's not going anywhere, he's staying in LA, he has his rings already

Why though? lebron had 3 and still left cleveland, although its cleveland. It is LA, youre right, I just cant see him decide to play out the next 3 years with paul george being a basket case and them having no basketball IQ on the roster, and him having to do so much heavy lifting during the RS. Kawhi loves playing good basketball, and there just isnt a basketball reason to be on that team. There are a lot of off court reasons for him to stay, but I'm interested to see what he values more. Maybe he signs a 1+1.

[Leslie Forman]

I didn't think that contract was a good idea, but this is his first season in a totally new situation and this season in general is chaotic anyways. He was probably seen as the successor to Lou and should get a shot at playing that role next year.

Look how people trashed Conley last year.

[matt6715]

Shamet > Kennard

And it's not even close

[Edrees]

What a relief that they'll have this contract. Could have been a real threat in the long term, but now they are pinned down for the duration of Kawhi and PG's primes.

[The_Hater]

Brooklyn isn’t playing Shamet much either. It sounds like Detroit is the only team to win this trade. Bey looks like a steal.

[LloydFree]

Shamet > Kennard

Emmanuel Quickly> Peyton Pritchard > Shamet > Kennard. Shoulda just used their pick, and saved that money they flushed.

[Mister Ze]

It hasn’t hurt them much when you look at the standings . But I think he’ll return to the rotation

[levon]

It was always a headscratcher

That said, just because a guy gets a DNP one time, doesn't mean he's out of the rotation. It's matchup-specific. Maybe he wins a playoff game for them with his shooting when someone else goes down

[The_Hater]

It was always a headscratcher

That said, just because a guy gets a DNP one time, doesn't mean he's out of the rotation. It's matchup-specific. Maybe he wins a playoff game for them with his shooting when someone else goes down

For sure. But at $16 million per season he shouldn’t be a matchup specific player either. That by itself tells us how badly the Clips overpaid here

[Clemenza]

Kennard's last year on the deal is a team option and right now the issue is he can't really play alongside a ball dominate Lou Will on the 2nd unit. Still early, hopefully he finds his role and gets aggressive. We'll see

[FinnTheHuman]

This is why you don't premium money to players when they only have one skill.

Bertans is another. 80 million dollar 5 year deal. And for what? They get hot for one year and are borderline rotation fodder the next. Stop paying money to 3-ball specialist with zero other talent and this wouldn't happen.

Dude, do you post anything but bad, uninformed takes? Like, the guy was never considered a pure 3pt specialist, where did you get this idea?

The guy played a really solid season last year and has shown much more than 1 skill, he's averaged over 4 assists, and he's been good scoring from the inside too, and he has a solid handle, so he's been perceived as a versatile offensive player in the offseason. The Clippers signed him to provide some playmaking and general scoring as much as they signed him for his 3pt shooting. It's just that he's struggling to find a role on that team because his role overlaps with Lou's, and he is in a slump.

[zimpy27]

It's a lot of money but the owner can afford.it seemingly.

Kennard looks a bit lost on the Clippers, I think it will take him time to adjust

[poultryfan]

I think it's fair to mention that the last year is a team option and that the 64 million number is based on his option being activated + him reaching all his incentives.

According to basketball reference:

Year 1: $12,727,273
Year 2: $13,745,455
Year 3: $14,763,636

So it's closer to ~41 million over 3 years which is about the same as Kuzma's new deal. Also consider that non-tax MLE starts at about 9 million per year.

Not a good deal or anything but not as bad as advertised.