The trade deadline came and went for the Lakers with just a single trade executed: Gabe Vincent and a second round pick in exchange for Hawks sharpshooting veteran Luke Kennard.
The Lakers were rumored to be continuing to look at additional moves on the margins after agreeing to send out Vincent, but nothing came to fruition before the deadline expired and, with it, the team’s focus shifting to any possible post-deadline action.
I am fond of the saying that “beggars can’t be choosers”, and as someone who wanted the Lakers to make even a small trade that marginally upgraded the team in any way, I should practice what I preach and accept that the team has met this threshold.
There are a lot of things Kennard is not — strong on defense, a ball handler or individual shot creator, an aggressive high volume shooter (especially considering his accuracy from deep) — but he is a long range marksmen who gives the Lakers offense an element it did not have before this deal.
Kennard is a career 44.2% shooter from deep, including a robust 49.7% this season. In fact, he’s never shot below 39% from beyond the arc, and has shot at least 45% four of his nine seasons (including this one). He can not only thrive as a pure spot-up option who feasts off the open looks created by Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, but he’s also a good enough movement shooter to run plays for in the halfcourt and is someone whose gravity coming off screens can occupy defenders.
Of course, there will be frustrations that come with Kennard. Some are obvious, like his lack of defense and how he’ll be targeted on that end, and some less so, like his penchant for turning down semi-open — or in some cases, truly open — shots in order to move the ball on to a teammate or attack a closeout that doesn’t lead to anything better. This latter aspect of his game could become a bigger point of contention on a Lakers team that needs possessions where their elite playmakers create shots paid off in not just with attempts, but actual makes.
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That said, having him on the court has the potential to open up space for the team’s top line creators, but also for players like Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes as they dive to the rim in pick-and-roll sets. In other words, he can be both a play finisher and a connecting piece whose prowess from behind the arc creates dilemmas for opponents.
However, even though I do see this as an incremental step in the right direction, I’d be lying if I said I was not hoping for just a bit more from the team at this deadline.
This is not me trying to sit here and tear down the front office for not being super aggressive at the trade deadline nor is this me arguing how this little activity in this transaction cycle impacts how much work remains in the summer. While those are valid arguments that can certainly be fleshed out further, I also understand the team saw this deadline working hand-in-hand with the summer cycle of moves they hope to make. There were constraints they put on themselves in order to preserve the positioning they’ve worked for with regard to their financial flexibility and tradable future first round picks.
Again, though, those are discussions for another day.
For me, today, this is more about a twinge of disappointment I feel that there wasn’t at least one more move made, particularly with the team still having at least one expiring contract in Maxi Kleber and one younger player in Dalton Knecht who the team could move on from with little to no disruption to their rotation or what they’re trying to accomplish on the court. And to be clear, I understand both can have meaningful contributions in other ways, particularly in the locker room for Kleber.
Is making a deal hard? Yes. And were the options also limited? Yes.
But as understandable as those things are, I still think that this Lakers team has a puncher’s chance in the playoffs against most every team, which is also an idea that the players and coaches seem to share as well.
So, to not be able to make an additional move with those remaining pieces at their disposal, even if in a similarly marginal move of the type that got them Kennard…I just wish they were able make something happen. Because a small move here and a small move there can add up to something meaningful that, even if it just gets them one additional win, can be the difference between advancing in the playoffs or not.
Maybe this all feels like a stretch, I know. Making one fewer minor move shouldn’t — and likely doesn’t — disrupt the team’s chances this spring and, if they do, the team probably wasn’t good enough to begin with. But, I also believe that pushing the remaining chips they had into the middle of the table — even if they’re clearly holding their best chips back for the summer — would have been nice to see.
Or, more accurately, them doing that and having it lead to something worthwhile. But, alas, that’s not how things went. And, so, it’s back on the shoulders of the team they mostly already had to prove that they can make a run that, seemingly even more so after the deadline is passed, no one really thinks they’ll be able to make.
You can follow Darius on BlueSky at@forumbluegold and find more of his Lakers coverage on theLaker Film Room Podcast.