Suns may deal for Kennard
The Republic has confirmed that Phoenix is in talks with Detroit about the Suns acquiring shooting guard Luke Kennard, as first reported by ESPN.
BROOKLYN – Luke Kennard hasn’t played since before Christmas.
Dec. 21 to be exact against Chicago. He reportedly may not return until after the All-Star break, but Phoenix is in talks with Detroit about acquiring the injured shooting guard, sources have told ESPN. The Republic confirmed the report through a source with knowledge of the situation. The trade deadline is Feb. 6 at 1 p.m., Phoenix time.
So the Suns are running out of time to make a trade, but don’t they have enough guys hurt?
Six players missed Monday’s 119-97 loss at Brooklyn with injuries: Dario Saric (ankle), Aron Baynes (hip), Ty Jerome (calf), Cam Johnson (quad), Frank Kaminsky (stress fracture) and Tyler John
son (knee).
Saric didn’t make the three-game road trip and Ricky Rubio returned from right ankle soreness after missing a game with the nagging injury.
And now they have their eyes on Kennard and would reportedly look to send the Pistons a first-round pick and second-year players Jevon Carter and Elie Okobo.
The irony of this is Phoenix (20-30) plays Wednesday at Detroit (18-34), which is coming off a 96-82 loss at Memphis.
Detroit and Phoenix will have Tuesday off after each played a back-to-back. So there won’t be a scheduled media availability for either team.
Phoenix was slated to stay the night in New York and will head to Detroit on Tuesday afternoon.
Checking sources now as we speak. Hope to hear something in the next few hours.
Now let’s talk about this deal’s potential.
The Suns don’t have a backup shooting guard for Devin Booker. They are 23rd in 3-point shooting percentage at 34.5%.
Kennard, a 6-5 guard out of Duke, addresses both needs when healthy.
He’s a career 40.2% shooter from deep. Kennard is shooting 39.9% from 3 this season (73-of-183) as he’s averaging a career-best 15.8 points in 28 games (25 starts).
A first-round pick in the 2017 draft, Kennard is on the third year of a fouryear deal and is owed $3.8 million this season and $5.2 million next season before becoming a restricted free agent in 2021.
Comes from a winning program at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski.
Sounds like a James Jones’ type of player.
Now lets flip the coin and see what’s on the other side.
Trading a first-round pick for someone who was taken in the first round and is in his third NBA season seems sensible, but the current injury status of Kennard makes it look iffy.
Then there’s trading away a defensive presence in Carter, who has been playing solid as of late as he scored a season-high 15 points in Sunday’s loss at Milwaukee.
The Okobo experiment may be over, but he’s got talent.
Sure the Suns would get a better diagnosis on Kennard’s injury status, but tendinitis doesn’t go away. It gets better, but it doesn’t vanish.
Then when Kennard does return, he’s isn’t exactly a starch defender and truth be told, that’s Phoenix’s problem.
The Suns can score with anybody, but they’re 18th in defensive rating. Not sure Kennard is going to make them a better defensive team.
Time is ticking on the Suns, but considering Kennard’s injury status, it feels like a potential one for the future, not right now.
Could be wrong.