Luke Kennard: Starter or Off the Bench

[Kaboom3]

I consider most on here pretty knowledgable when it comes to Pistons basketball. Looking at our current roster, assuming there are no trades or roster turnover through free agency, do you think Luke Kennard should start at the 2 with Bullock at 3, start at the 2 with Stanley at the 3 and Bullock off the bench, or come off the bench as a 6th-7th man? I really liked how Kennard finished the season and think he can be a 12-15 point scorer this year if he gets the minutes that he never got under SVG. How would you like to see Coach Casey use him?

[stylesofpunk]

RJ/Kennard/Bullock/Blake/Dre with Ish/rookies/SJ/Leuer/Moreland for bench


Personally i still wanna see Kennard/SJ/Bullock/Blake/Drummond since Blake is more of a point forward

[DETermination]

He should be the starter

[Kaboom3]

Thanks for your thoughts....my only reservation with Luke as a starter is how he can hold up defensively against the most athletic players in the world. Off guards in the NBA are just incredibly talented off the dribble and not sure Luke can stay in front of them at this point in his career (needs to get stronger and that will eventually happen). His offensive skills though are really, really good. Tough call but with the Pistons not being a threat for a championship for a few years it makes sense to run him out there and see what they have in him.

[Spider156]

Offensively he's a starter. Defensively he needs to get stronger or quicker. If he can get his lateral movement up to NBA level speed then he's definitely a starter.

[afroxnas]

You cannot start SJ, Blake and Dre together in today’s NBA. It will just be impossible to score

[Neptune]

Yeah, Kennard is trade bait.

[dVs33]

I like Luke and bullock starting with sj off the bench where he can be more of a facilitator

[7r5ur]

Starting. Gotta have that spacing. I'd say the majority of teams dont have elite players off-the-dribble at both wing spots. Bullock can take the tougher assignment.

[Snakebites]

It should be Luke and Bullock. They're the best 2 players IMO. Stanley is simply too bad offensively to be viable as a starter, he's too bad for our spacing.

I don't like having 2 bad defenders in the backcourt, but having such poor shooting alongside 2 big men who are the main part of the offense simply isn't permissible.

I still have hope that Luke might become less of a liability defensively and that he'll find more consistency offensively. Stanley? At this point I think he is what he is, and it's not a starter.

[detroitKG]

With his offensive capabilities he needs to be starting. Both him and Bullock. Obviously he needs to work on his defense, but he graded out as an average defender for his rookie year.

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[gusman]

My god Stanley sucks. In every way possible.

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[gusman]

He is a poor leader and has zero skill. He is a svg bust. A loser making millions.

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[gusman]

It is beyond me how anyone still holds out hope for Stanley the loser Johnson.

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[King Bugs]

Luke probably should for spacing and shooting, but that gives us a lot of average to below average defenders in the starting lineup for a team that's not elite offensively to make up for it. We already have to hide Reggie in certain matchups, now we have to hide Kennard too? One of them will be BBQ chicken nightly with these forced switches that teams like to do now and Bullock can't defend everybody.

Also, unless Galloway & Leuer resurrect themselves from the dead or one of these 2nd rounders are ready to contribute out the gate, we have no scoring on the bench.

So, I fully expect that Stanley will get first shot at starting when training camp starts. That's not a vote of confidence for Stanley, that's just how bad this roster is.

[Cowology]

At this point i dont think we have the luxary of considering things like defense or bench depth. You kinda just have to put the best 4 guys you have around Blake and hope he has an MVP caliber season. That means Kennard & Bullock starting.

[hoophabit]

How things shake out in camp might surprise, but you have to think getting Kennard and Bullock shooting opportunities would be a priority.

[7r5ur]

The fact that SVG started so many games with Ish Smith, Stanley Johnson, Griffin, and Drummond on the floor is the reason he doesn't have a job right now.

How can something be so obvious to everyone but the guy getting paid millions to make those decisions?

[Moses ShamMoses]

Starters: RJ, Kennard, Bullock, Blake, Drummond

*This gives us the best shooting around our 2 big men. I agree with most that unless Stanley Johnson comes into camp a new man (could happen but 90% sure it wont), he needs to come off the bench.

Bench: Ish, Brown or Thomas, Johnson, Ellenson, Moreland

*I think Leuer gets traded this offseason with the way the front office keeps talking up Ellenson

[ChipButty]

I think I start Kennard and Stanley. Casey can use SJ in a similar fashion to Anunoby. It's too early to state Stanley is what he is. He's basically the same age as Luke and the 2 guys we just drafted.

Bullock can be 6th man and come off the bench for either Luke or Stanley depending on how the game is going. I'm not sure we are in a financial position to keep Bullock long term. Unless we are contending in the East, I wouldn't be surprised to see him and Ish traded.