The addition of Luke Kennard by the Phoenix Suns this offseason came as a surprise at two years, $12.4 million. A number that surprised many who felt the 30-year-old sharpshooter was destined for a bigger contract. In the eyes of many, it's a steal of a deal.
Yossi Gozlan had a voice very familiar to Suns fans on his Third Apron podcast recently, with Gerald Bourguet joining to break down the franchise’s offseason moves. Gozlan was complimentary of the Suns being able to land Kennard at the price point they did, as he felt he could have earned as much as $9 million annually elsewhere.
Stealing elite 3-point shooter at that price superb business
The former Los Angeles Laker has his flaws, but signing the player who led the entire league in 3-point shooting percentage to come off the bench is excellent business when you are trying to win games. A fact made even better when you consider that the Suns needed to replace many of Grayson Allen’s minutes and appear to have done so with Kennard.
Allen had great success as a secondary playmaker and started plenty of games, but Kennard doesn’t have to worry about any of that.
If he comes in, lets it fly from deep, and doesn't get cooked defensively, this signing is going to be a home run. It is already a success, as Gozlan rightly pointed out that the Suns stole Kennard for what amounts to 3.7 percent of their cap space.
Kennard has a player option in the second year of this deal, which adds another layer to this situation. The onus is on him to try to extract more money from either the Suns themselves or another team down the road. Phoenix has shown a willingness to pay players if they have proved themselves, getting the best out of Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin and rewarding them for those efforts.
Kennard could follow in their footsteps by giving the Suns some of his best basketball.
Kennard won’t fix all of Suns’ problems
The Suns won’t want to acknowledge it, but there is a reason Kennard was available in the first place. He is a specialist who can excel in the right situations but who can also flame out badly if the players around him don’t carry most of the defensive load. Phoenix has a ton of defensive-minded players such as Goodwin, Gillespie, Dillon Brooks, and even Khaman Maluach who help in that area.
Yet, they'll struggle to be the ninth-best defense once again if Kennard is playing big minutes. They will need that on some nights because of how cramped their starting five looks. Then there is the injury bug, which Jalen Green was no stranger to last season, that could thrust Kennard into a bigger role if needed.
A wonderful signing that you make every time, but not without its flaws. It looks to have made the Suns stronger and the Lakers weaker in the process, and assuming this is not another Yuta Watanabe situation, then Gozlan is right to have so much praise for this signing.
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