The Los Angeles Lakers have several players who can or will become free agents later this month. Everyone has been talking about LeBron James and Austin Reaves hitting the open market and whether the Lakers will retain them, but it will be important for the team to keep as many of its soon-to-be free agents as possible.
Sharpshooter Luke Kennard, whom L.A. acquired in a midseason trade from the Atlanta Hawks, is about to become a free agent. He proved to be a nice addition to the squad's roster, not just because of his ability to throw in darts from the outside, but also because of his ability to attack closeouts, work off the dribble and even handle the ball and facilitate when needed.
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In a recent report for ESPN, Dave McMenamin wrote that Kennard wants to stay in town for the long haul.
"Kennard, for his part, was on an $11 million expiring contract and has interest in making L.A. his long-term home after previously playing 2½ seasons with the LA Clippers," McMenamin wrote.
One of the Lakers' biggest weaknesses is bench scoring and overall depth, and Kennard helped a bit in that regard. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged nine points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23 minutes a game while shooting 52.7% overall and 44.8% from 3-point range in 32 regular-season games with them. With a 44.2% accuracy, he is second all-time in career 3-point percentage, behind only Steve Kerr.
In this year's playoffs, with Luka Doncic out due to a hamstring strain and Austin Reaves unable to play for the first four games with an oblique strain, Kennard put up 11.5 points a game and made 47.4% of his attempts from downtown.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: Luke Kennard wants to stay in L.A.