Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/contracts-aplenty-are-covered-in?r=nuq3a&utm_medium=ios

I’ve heard numerous team strategists bring this one up lately as well: The Lakers theoretically could have nearly $50 in cap space, but they obviously want to re-sign Austin Reaves even before factoring in the mystery of how LeBron James’ looming free agency plays out.

Another tricky variable that has emerged: It is increasingly anticipated leaguewide that the Lakers will want to retain the recently acquired Luke Kennard after his strong first-round series against Houston.

Kennard is playing on an expiring $11 million contract after arriving in a February trade from Atlanta in what was initially billed as the low-cost rental of a shooter for the rest of this season. More and more, though, I’m hearing rival team strategists project Kennard to be part of the Lakers’ future plans.

MacJonesisaterrorist | Celtics

49 | 4 hours ago

No one is offering him enough to get him to leave, ²⁄₂₀ works

No_Diver_629

8 | 2 hours ago

He will be offered more than that. He will be at least a mid level guy on around 15 mill

SebastianC1

1 | 2 hours ago

Goodbye then

steebulee | Lakers

5 | an hour ago

You’re trippin we finally have a shooter

guacdoc24 | Lakers

1 | 10 minutes ago

Not worth a MLE lmao two good games isn’t enough to rewrite multiple years of average play and unwillingness to shoot

No_Diver_629

1 | 6 minutes ago

If lakers do not think he is worth it, dont offer it. But pretty sure other teams will offer it

relax336 | Lakers

29 | 4 hours ago

This is a no brainer. He’s been excellent the entire time he’s been in LA.

heroman3

6 | 3 hours ago

As long as they don’t blow the 3-0 lead.

relax336 | Lakers

28 | 3 hours ago

That’s not a reason not resign Kennard. What is happening.

MrFishAndLoaves | Pelicans

6 | 3 hours ago

Laker tax

awntawn | Lakers

4 | an hour ago

Laker fans. If you lose, trade everyone type logic.

AgentOfSPYRAL | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

Except Bronny.

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-4 | 3 hours ago

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relax336 | Lakers

23 | 3 hours ago

Oh no. A bench player thrust into the starting lineup playing heavier minutes in a heavier role than ever had 3 straight bad games. Time to get emotional and let him go. Get a grip.

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-9 | 3 hours ago

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relax336 | Lakers

7 | 3 hours ago

And he’s shown he’s willing to forego his shooting percentage when called upon while in LA.

This notion some of you Laker fans are peddling that every single teammate of Lukas needs to be elite on defense is some of the dumbest shit in the world and it isn’t realistic team building.

Role players are going to have deficiencies. That’s why they’re role players.

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-5 | 3 hours ago

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relax336 | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

Luka Doncic himself passed up a game winning shot. I mean…your argument boils down to “well this one time”

I can show you where you’re being overly pedantic for the sake of a tired argument that Luka can’t succeed with not so great defenders around him.

You’re correct. Jokic is stellar on defense. I forgot. No way Denver can win anything being lead by Murray and Jokic.

Consistency isn’t the same thing as deficiencies.

No. Im not going to go quiet because generational Shai is cooking Luke Kennard.

You got to do better than this. This is about a bench player too. Elite defenders can’t even guard that dude.

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-2 | 3 hours ago

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LiveLaughLonzo | LAL

2 | 3 hours ago

Laker fan vs Laker fan

relax336 | Lakers

1 | 2 hours ago

A role player passing up shots is worse than your number 1 scorer doing it? A role player playing a role he’s never been in to be exact.

And we’ve had more than three games with him playing well and contributing to the Lakers winning.

And Dallas brought in Klay Thompson to play a role in them returning to the finals.

Luka did have a strong defensive supporting cast. But not everyone was that player. The argument that a sharpshooter with defensive woes has no role on a championship caliber team is nonsense.

You said the reality of today is that you can’t have ANY awful defenders on a championship team. That’s why I brought those players up. Jokic is not a good defender. Murray has never been confused with a good defensive player. And they were the best players on a champion.

I’m really not sure why Shai scoring on Luke does anything at all.

Not only does the salary cap exist….you have to build your team with the players available. And there’s a mighty high chance it’ll be near impossible to fill the Lakers 3 and D players up and down the roster.

[deleted]

1 | 2 hours ago

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NoHacksJustTacos

9 | 3 hours ago

Dude he’s a role player?

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-2 | 3 hours ago

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hansislegend | Lakers

1 | 2 hours ago

His defense hasn’t been that bad tbh

E_boiii | Thunder

2 | 3 hours ago

Horrible take, the reason y’all went 3-0 in the first place was because of him. Role players have a role to fill and he is being asked currently to do much more.

[deleted]

2 | 3 hours ago

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E_boiii | Thunder

2 | 3 hours ago

You’re not realizing Luke isn’t a superstar. He’s a roleplayer, Luka and Austin have the job of drawing defenders and getting him good looks. You think Isiah Joe is creating his own shots consistently? No we’re doing DHO’s and kickouts to him.
I get your frustration but Luke has shown more upside than almost any other roleplayer y’all have. He’s just being asked to do a lot out of nowhere vs a very physical defense

Also he’s scored more in the playoffs than gabe did for y’all the whole regular season he was a steal for you guys

Also y’all still command this series, if lakers get past the first round. W a big 3 of Marcus bron and Luke that’s a fucking win

[deleted]

1 | 3 hours ago

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E_boiii | Thunder

1 | 3 hours ago

lol I get you. I’d say give him a year tho, Isaiah Joe was unplayable last playoffs because how bad his defense was, he’s cleaned it up this year, I’m sure Luke will be a better laker

RedtheGamer100 | Hornets

2 | 3 hours ago

Unless he a bench player

[deleted]

1 | 3 hours ago

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3 | 3 hours ago

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coldheartedsnob | Lakers

1 | 2 hours ago

I didn’t even know the Italian PG played in denver

MRowland82

1 | 3 hours ago

That’s harsh, he’s had the Rockets sticking to him like glue most of the game now and he’s been surprisingly good on defense. Still a net positive role-player and for the salary he’s pretty good

Jason-Smith168498

1 | 2 hours ago

this guy cant figure out how the best % shooter in the league might fit onto a team with luka.

CheesecakePretend553

7 | 3 hours ago

If they can get him for under 10 mil sure, but he’s got the Joe Harris, Duncan Robinson, and Kyle Korver problem. Elite shooters, but can’t defend and you need to surround luka and reaves with defenders. Rui and Smart can also walk in the offseason and they should be higher priority. Most of this hinges on what lebron does. If he takes a massive paycut and they keep this squad together and just add to it they might actually be a problem.

lovo17 | Lakers

8 | 3 hours ago

Smart is the only one who is a must return. I’d prioritize Luke over Rui because Luke will be cheaper and I think Rui will be a sought after MLE candidate this offseason.

lets_talk_basketball

2 | an hour ago

He’s not getting over 10M.. he got traded for Gabe vincent and a 2nd. If someone was gonna give him 10 they could’ve matched that to get some bird rights

colosusx1 | Celtics

3 | an hour ago

He has no bird rights. And was on an expiring. There was no reason for a team to trade for him unless they needed him this year. A lot of teams can open up the non tax payer mle, and it won’t surprise me if a team gives him something between 10-15m…just like the hawks did last summer.

djhatrick12

-2 | 3 hours ago

I understand LBJ not taking a pay cut but he doesn’t need the money. Veterans minimum and he’s one of the best contracts in the league and the team is a top contender

No_Diver_629

5 | an hour ago

Would you work for a tenth of what your salary should be?

djhatrick12

0 | an hour ago

If I had unlimited money, I would do what I enjoy for free. I think his situation is more similar to that

No_Diver_629

3 | an hour ago

And that would be continue working in your current job?

Even if he wanted to do it, play for the minimum, why not play for a team that are a real contenders?

Air2Jordan3 | Cavaliers

1 | 39 minutes ago

Location matters. If (reinforcing the hypothetical) he is willing to play for the minimum and just said I don’t care about the money, why would he move somewhere just to maybe be a title contender. His family is in LA and that could be as equally as important as playing for a contender.

Legacy also matters. Going to OKC, SA, BOS just looks silly and is trying to stat pad his way to a championship before retiring.

IMO the only realistic options are the Lakers and Cavs. Cleveland doesn’t help with the location/family problem but he’s very familiar with CLE and could make work for a year or two, while also not really hurting his legacy at all (returning home for another championship, and Cleveland while a good basketball team isn’t a top-tier contender). GS is maybe a distant third just so he can play a season with Steph.

The only way another team really opens up as a possibility is if LeBron just says fuck my legacy I’m going to (insert team) SA to win a title and play with Wemby. But we’re already playing with an unrealistic hypothetical of him playing for the minimum so I’m good to not knock down any more doors.

borgy_t | NBA

8 | 3 hours ago

Strong?

lets_talk_basketball

5 | an hour ago

I mean.. if they win this series, his g1 and 2 will be a big reason why. B2B 20 point games in big wins. He was solid G3 too iirc

edub1906

1 | 15 minutes ago

But he’s also been trash the past 2 games, including last night’s 1 point performance where he didn’t attempt a single 3pt shot

RapsareChamps_Suckit | Clippers

5 | 4 hours ago

the series isn’t ova yet Mr. Fish

Genericthrowaw4y | Thunder

5 | 4 hours ago

1 point in 31 min

steebulee | Lakers

7 | an hour ago

Recency bias is strong in this one

edub1906

1 | 15 minutes ago

It was even stronger after Game 2

Ok-Tree4365

3 | 3 hours ago

He’s always been a great bench piece. Paying him like a starter would be a mistake, particularly given his health history, defense, and inconsistent aggressiveness.

motorboat_mcgee | Lakers

2 | 3 hours ago

Gotta love this news coming right after he scores 0 in a closeout game lol

Hornsdowngunsup | Spurs

2 | 41 minutes ago

Gotta win the series first. lol

RyanTannegod | Heat

0 | 4 hours ago

He scored 1 point last game

heat_fan_ | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

He’s been great for the Lakers shouldn’t be a surprise

nba2k11er | Warriors

1 | 3 hours ago

What rights do they have on him? Early bird?

clayfu | Clippers

1 | 36 minutes ago

I think early bird requires two years. He was signed to a one year deal with the hawks before the trade. So they need cap space or use mid level.

Imaginary-Ebb-1724

1 | 3 hours ago

Kennard and Ayo magnet ball games cashed them out

Afrobritish | Iran

1 | 3 hours ago

I don’t think that 50 bucks is enough for Reaves re-signing

Cheyenne______ | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

He is good for non taxpayer mid level or smt. Cant waste any cap space for him. He is not playable against good teams at play-offs.

GauthZuOGZ | Mavericks

1 | an hour ago

Strong 2 games

lets_talk_basketball

1 | an hour ago

He’s a good 82 game player, his shooting is valuable to get you through the long season. Come playoff time he’s easy to game plan against.

eyyoadrian | Clippers

1 | an hour ago

Retain him. Like some water.

superjacket64 | Hawks

1 | 35 minutes ago

Nearly $50!!! What will they do with so much cap space? Lol

Unpickled_cucumber1

0 | 3 hours ago

I mean, at least wait until the series is over. But yes, Kennard has been a really good addition

killersky99

1 | an hour ago

For what, he’s a role player who shot well in the regular season and won them the first two games and has a career record of shooting well. Even if he has another bad game, it’s normal for a role player.

Robertkr1986 | Spurs

0 | 3 hours ago

Not looking so strong now

DomoArrigato2020 | Lakers

-2 | 4 hours ago

Tell them to finish the job first.

Rusty_Pickles

0 | 3 hours ago

Job finished?

[Fischer] The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to want to retain the recently acquired Luke Kennard after his strong first-round series against Houston.