Luke Kennard might end up being one of the cleanest value pickups of the NBA offseason, and the Phoenix Suns got him at a number that turned heads right away: two years, $12.4 million.
For a 30-year-old shooter with Kennard’s reputation, that price felt light. Yossi Gozlan said as much on his Third Apron podcast, where Gerald Bourguet joined him to dig into the Suns’ offseason. Gozlan was especially high on Phoenix landing Kennard where it did, noting that he could have pulled in as much as $9 million annually elsewhere.
That’s why this deal stands out. Kennard led the entire league in 3-point shooting percentage, and the Suns brought him in to come off the bench.
If you’re trying to win games, that’s exactly the kind of bet you want to make. Phoenix also had a clear need to replace a chunk of Grayson Allen’s minutes, and Kennard looks like the answer they chose.
Allen gave the Suns value as a secondary playmaker and made plenty of starts, but Kennard doesn’t need to carry that same load. His job is simpler: get on the floor, fire from deep, and avoid becoming a defensive target. If he does that, this has all the makings of a home run.
It’s already being viewed that way financially. Gozlan pointed out that Phoenix got Kennard for 3.7 percent of its cap space, which is the kind of bargain front offices dream about.
There’s another wrinkle here, too: Kennard has a player option in the second year of the contract. That puts the pressure on him to play well enough to earn a bigger payday, whether that comes from the Suns or another team later on. Phoenix has shown it will reward players who prove themselves, and Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin have already followed that path.
Of course, this move isn’t without risk. Kennard was available for a reason. He’s a specialist, and those players can look fantastic when the roster around them absorbs the defensive work - or they can get exposed fast if that support isn’t there.
The Suns do have several defense-first pieces in Goodwin, Gillespie, Dillon Brooks, and even Khaman Maluach, but there’s still a limit to how far that can carry them. If Kennard is logging heavy minutes, it’s hard to imagine Phoenix suddenly becoming anything better than the ninth-best defense it was again. Some nights, though, the Suns may need him in that role anyway, especially with how crowded their starting five looks.
And injuries could force the issue. Jalen Green dealt with the injury bug last season, and if that happens again, Kennard could be asked to do more.
So the verdict is pretty simple: this is the kind of signing you make every time, even with the flaws attached. It appears to make the Suns better and the Lakers weaker at the same time, and unless it turns into another Yuta Watanabe situation, Gozlan’s praise makes plenty of sense.
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What makes Goodwin more than just a hustle guy is how rare his production was for a Suns guard, with steals and offensive rebounds both showing up in ways that changed possessions. For a team looking to keep its second unit functional and its defensive pressure steady, he suddenly feels less like an extra piece and more like someone they need to count on moving forward. [Read more 🡒]