The Los Angeles Lakers made just one move before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, acquiring Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick. The Lakers certainly could use a sharpshooter like Kennard, and head coach JJ Redick spoke glowingly about the guard during his press conference after the 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
“Excited about Luke,” Redick said. “Known him for about 12 years now. I think he’s one of the best shooters in the NBA. I’m gonna highly encourage him to shoot more and not turn down shots. But I think one of the underrated parts of his game is his ability to move and create second actions and move the basketball.
“And you’ve seen that now at a number of his stops where you can initiate the offense through off-ball movement, and he will just make the right play and sort of get the offense going,” Redick continued. “So, he’ll be a corner threat, and he’ll be an off-ball threat, and we’re excited to have him.”
Kennard averaged 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game for the Hawks in 2025-26 while shooting a league-leading 49.7% from beyond the arc. The 29-year-old is averaging only 3.2 attempts per game, though, and Redick is going to encourage him to let it fly more often.
The Lakers have shot 34.9% from three this season, only good enough for 21st in the NBA. Their average of 11.8 threes made per game also ranks just 23rd. It’s an area where they have struggled.
Redick once called the Lakers one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA. They sure looked like one in the first half against the 76ers, shooting 2-12 (16.7%) from three. They would finish the game a respectable 9-25 (36.0%), but it is clear they needed more shooters.
Before this trade, Rui Hachimura (43.8%) was the only player on this Lakers roster to shoot above 40.0% from beyond the arc this season, among those who have attempted more than one three-pointer. Kennard, a career 44.2% three-point shooter, has instantly become their best sniper, and Austin Reaves loves the addition. The concern, though, is defense.
Kennard isn’t a good defender, and the Lakers already have one too many players who aren’t great on that end of the floor. It will be interesting to see how Redick gameplans around this issue.
As the man who had to be shipped out for Kennard, Redick had nothing but praise for Vincent.
“His teammates loved him, his coaches loved him,” Redick stated. “Really, just from a professionalism standpoint, just embodied everything that is good about this game. And I do think the way he finished last season and the way he started preseason, we all felt that he was going to really have like a breakout year for us here, and unfortunately, just had a bunch of injuries.
“He’s a good player and an even better person,” Redick added. “And I mean, I’ve told Gabe this many times. We’re all grateful that we got to work with him and be around him, and I told him that this morning as well. We’re very appreciative of him.”
You can definitely point to injuries as a reason why Vincent never quite got going as a Laker. They had signed him to a three-year, $33 million deal in 2023, and he only played in 11 games in the 2023-24 season due to a knee injury.
Vincent did manage to play in 72 games in the 2024-25 campaign, but the injury bug struck again in this one. The 29-year-old only played in 29 of the Lakers’ first 49 games.
Vincent struggled when he did manage to get on the court, averaging 4.8 points, 0.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.5 steals per game while shooting 34.6% from the field. Perhaps a change in scenery will do the guard good.
