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

[skones]

Sure, to a degree. But generally that poor defender needs to be pretty damm fantastic on offense in order to make it worth the trouble of altering your entire defensive system for them.

Also, sometimes there’s just nobody to hide the player on or the opposing coach just makes sure they’re involved in every single pick and roll and switch in order exploit them. We see this in the playoffs all the time, less often in the regular season.

See the edit.

[The_Hater]

Sure, to a degree. But generally that poor defender needs to be pretty damm fantastic on offense in order to make it worth the trouble of altering your entire defensive system for them.

Also, sometimes there’s just nobody to hide the player on or the opposing coach just makes sure they’re involved in every single pick and roll and switch in order exploit them. We see this in the playoffs all the time, less often in the regular season.

See the edit.

Fair, but I think my point still makes sense. It’s also seems that Lue is putting an emphasis on defense now because they’ve underachieved at that end all season.

[SFour]

pretty much everyone knew that contract was a mistake the second it was announced

[zeebneeb]

He reminds me of OKC Kyle Singler. An overvalued scrub

And here's the guy that doesn't watch a lot of basketball, but feels the need to make an obviously incorrect comparison.

Why do people do this?

Now explain how Kennard reminds you of Kyle Singler without using race.

Good luck.

[GAthens34]

I've always liked him.
The irony is that on the Pistons he would have been a star and underpaid with that contract.

[Statlanta]

He reminds me of OKC Kyle Singler. An overvalued scrub

And here's the guy that doesn't watch a lot of basketball, but feels the need to make an obviously incorrect comparison.

Why do people do this?

Now explain how Kennard reminds you of Kyle Singler without using race.

Good luck.

It’s an apt comparison. Kwame is a scrub too but I guess since he wasn’t a beloved Piston it doesn’t matter.

Western Contender thinks they are getting a shooter from Detroit. Gets an overmatched player that is overwhelmed by actual competition from the West.

[Scalabrine]

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.

Kennard has shown good secondary ball handler potential. He's shown that he's a good rebounder for his position. He's not just a gunner/shooter like Bertans/Trent/Hardaway, he's closer to a guy like Terry Rozier.

[slicedbread2]

Kennard is doing exactly what could have been expected of him.

Batum took all of Kennard's minutes.

Why he was worth a mid first rounder, I don't know.

Detroit did pay 4 2nds(DET 24-26+POR 23) plus Kennard to get that pick and Bey has really shown some good potential so those 2nds in the end are meaningless.

To be fair, nobody thought Batum would have the bounce back year that he has had. The dude came off a torn labrum and many people myself included thought he was finished and would be lucky to have a roster spot going forward. Kennard's red flags should've been those knees and he missed a good chunk of playing time last year because of it. To me they should've been patient in waiting to see whether or not he'd be a good fit in their system. Not to mention they should've moved Lou if they were gonna commit to him.

They jumped the shark and it'll be interesting to see what they plan to do going forward, but they're hard capped and had limited options.

[Phreak50]

There's literally a thread on this made just a few hours earlier. Come on OP.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2057862

[Pointgod]

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.

I’m 100% sure there were posters that argued that the Wizards had to pay Bertans 80 million dollars because the Wizards couldn’t afford to lose his shooting lol

[TheNewEra]

Sure, to a degree. But generally that poor defender needs to be pretty damm fantastic on offense in order to make it worth the trouble of altering your entire defensive system for them.

Also, sometimes there’s just nobody to hide the player on or the opposing coach just makes sure they’re involved in every single pick and roll and switch in order exploit them. We see this in the playoffs all the time, less often in the regular season.

See the edit.

Fair, but I think my point still makes sense. It’s also seems that Lue is putting an emphasis on defense now because they’ve underachieved at that end all season.

Can’t hide Luke while your already trying to hide Lou and have to heavily monitor Reggie Jackson playing out of control on both ends. As soon as Luke got paid the bags for Lou should of been packed for a pass first defensive guard. Then got a bigger3/D wing to put beside him at SF for extra insurance.

Now we play spurts of 3 small ball lineups or stagger Kawhi or PG13 with the bench and it kind of becomes a trio of looks between Lou/Morris and one of the stars

[bwgood77]

I think he's mostly there for post Reggie Jackson/Lou Williams/Baturm and then Beverley. He still is shooting 44% on 3s this year and is a good passer if he gets minutes. I'm not sure they expected to play Batum this much either. He's still only 24.

[Harry Garris]

I feel bad for Kennard. It’s not that he is bad, he is just not as good as Lou and Reggie. He was brought in as a facilitator but with other guys stepping up, there is just no room for him in the rotation. Plus Mann is eating whatever minutes are leftover.

Kennard was always going to be a trade piece. Clips had nobody to throw into a trade for a guy like Rubio or a re-signed Lonzo. Kennard plus Fi plus a couple of second rounders may be able to net a player capable of cracking the rotation. Otherwise, add Beverly or Lou into the mix and you can go for Wall. Clips thinking the long play with the Kennard signing.

I'll be honest, I have no idea why Mann is playing over Kennard. I know Mann is a better defender, but he's just a zero offensively. The Clippers offense gets bogged down and struggles at times as it is, they could really use another wing who can space the floor and play make for others.

[jbk1234]

Shamet > Kennard

Prime Bey > Shamet + Kennard

Yep.

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[chrbal]

They really should just trade him. He obviously doesn't fit on their roster and he's better than what he has shown with them. Even while struggling this season, he's still shooting 40%+ from three. A number of teams will find a role for him.

Ok, who wants to pay him that much AND trade something to get him? LAC will have to eat that salary or take back a really bad contract if they want to get rid of him

They traded two guys they were going to cut and 2nd for a veteran. Not brilliant, not horrible either.

The best is the Knicks angle. Get a phone call getting offered two seconds to take on Ed’s contract. While they are setting up a press release, Minnesota calls and offers them two camp body types on rookie deals and a 2nd for him.

Three second round picks for taking on like $4 million to see if either Omari Spellman or Jacob Evans was worth keeping, just because Utah wanted to open up some payroll and Minnesota wanted to consolidate.

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

The Clippers are pretenders. They have Kawhi, PG, Ibaka, Zubac, Beverley, Morris, Batum...all these guys are super-elite to marginally above average defenders. They're #4 in Ortg but average in Drtg (15th). A team with all those great defenders should never be average on defense. A huge component of their defensive woes is their second unit that can't guard a traffic cone. And their worst defenders are Lou Will, Reggie Jackson, and Kennard. Those guys are so bad they're dragging the Clippers Drtg down. Any lineup combination with at least 2 of those 3 players dies on defense. In the PS they will get hunted to oblivion. Giving Kennard $16m seemed like a good idea at the time but now? Not so much.

The Clippers have already benched Kennard in the regular season. Unlikely he gets any playoff minutes. How can they be pretenders because of a guy that won't even play?

Williams and Jackson will see less minutes in the playoffs as the rotation tightens.

How can any team be a pretender solely because of their bench knowing bench minutes go way down in the playoffs?

Because the Clippers defense is suspect. When you have Beverley, Kawhi, PG, Serge, and Zubac and you can't overcome Lou Will and Kennard's defense, that raises questions. Even with Kennard being benched the Clippers' defense is still suspect.

Just look at their last 5 games or so with Kennard benched:

vs. Jazz: 115.8 Drtg
vs Nets (with no KD) 118.9 Drtg
vs Wizards 114.5 Drtg
vs Grizzlies 127 Drtg
vs Bucks 111.4 Drtg

These are all games where their starting lineup played. Kennard got 17 total minutes across these five games (he didn't play in 3 and got 6 minutes in another game) but their defense got torched.

This suggests to me that there is something seriously wrong with their defense.

Holding the Bucks to 111 is good. You skipped holding Mem to 98. And you're talking about a period where 4 of their last 7 games were against top 3 offenses.

Anyway, they have their flaws on defense, but they still have the 3rd best record in the league. Every team has had players miss games, so the records and off/def ratings are scrambled a bit, but they still have two stars (if George pulls it together in the playoffs).

Just saying, I'd rather have a weak bench than a lack of star power in the starting lineup, which is an issue the Bucks, Sixers and Jazz have to prove they don't have when it comes to fielding a 1-2 punch on offense to match AD/LeBron, Irving/Durant/Harden, and George/Leonard.

[Antinomy]

I don’t get the point of playing both Reggie Jackson & Lou Williams.

[Antinomy]

Clippers are paying Kennard & Morris $16 million/year each to come off the bench. What a job they’re doing over there.....

[Roscoe Sheed]

I feel bad for Kennard. It’s not that he is bad, he is just not as good as Lou and Reggie. He was brought in as a facilitator but with other guys stepping up, there is just no room for him in the rotation. Plus Mann is eating whatever minutes are leftover.

Kennard was always going to be a trade piece. Clips had nobody to throw into a trade for a guy like Rubio or a re-signed Lonzo. Kennard plus Fi plus a couple of second rounders may be able to net a player capable of cracking the rotation. Otherwise, add Beverly or Lou into the mix and you can go for Wall. Clips thinking the long play with the Kennard signing.

I'll be honest, I have no idea why Mann is playing over Kennard. I know Mann is a better defender, but he's just a zero offensively. The Clippers offense gets bogged down and struggles at times as it is, they could really use another wing who can space the floor and play make for others.

Mann has actually been making some perimeter shots here and there and aggressively takes the ball to the basket- which happens far too infrequently for the Clippers.

However, I do agree that the staff should find some way to get Kennard at least 10 minutes a game or so

[Roscoe Sheed]

Clippers are paying Kennard & Morris $16 million/year each to come off the bench. What a job they’re doing over there.....

Morris could easily start but coming back from his knee injury he suggested that he should come off the bench because Batum started the season so well. He often plays starter minutes though.