Luke Kennard was a great pickup by the Phoenix Suns this offseason, and becoming a better and more willing passer could force head coach Jordan Ott to eventually insert him into the starting five.
Kennard can solve spacing issues if playmaking improves
Many believed that Kennard coming to The Valley and Grayson Allen leaving represented a like-for-like swap, but that is not the case. Allen has always been the more athletic of the two, while also being the better defender and more able playmaker. He will be missed.
Kennard is a 3-point threat in the purest form, to the point he has been played off the court and picked on defensively in the past. If he can up his assists to around four each night - which would represent a career high - then it will become hard to ignore putting him into the starting lineup.
Imagine having a guy who has led the league in 3-point shooting in the past, but who also knows when to give up the ball and create some easy scores for teammates.
The player most likely to make way if this were to happen is Jalen Green, although bringing Miles Bridges off the bench and sliding Dillon Brooks to the four would solve so many of the spacing issues this group clearly has. If Bridges was the player to sit, a big ask given his clear offensive talent, then the Suns would suddenly have a secondary playmaker to take some of the pressure off Devin Booker.
Green is never going to assume this role either, so this would give the backcourt a creative outlet in the form of Kennard, while also remaining competitive defensively thanks to Brooks and the true x-factor in Phoenix right now in Mark Williams.
Suns need Kennard to exceed expectations to continue winning ways
Kennard isn't going to become even an average defender overnight, that ship has sailed, but being a better passer and somebody who can get others involved would be huge.
The Suns have had several key role players across the last few seasons, from Collin Gillespie to Jordan Goodwin, have career years and exceed expectations. Kennard will have to join that list if his time with the franchise is to be deemed a success.
Adding a new dimension to his game unexpectedly at 30-years-old sure would go a long way to giving the Suns an extra weapon each night and a clear selection headache for coach Ott. A sixth man role would still be a brilliant outcome here, but why not think big with Kennard's arrival.
Stranger things have happened.
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