NBA
#12 – Luke Kennard – Detroit Pistons
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
With the No. 12 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons selected Luke Kennard, shooting guard out of Duke University.
After reaching the playoffs in 2016, the Pistons won eight fewer games this past season and missed out on the festivities. One of the primary areas where the Pistons needed immediate help was on the perimeter. The team shot just 33 percent from beyond the arc last season, ranking 28th in the league in accuracy.
Kennard figures to have an immediate opportunity to help Detroit space the floor. The 6-foot-5 guard connected on 44 percent of his 201 three-point attempts this past season in the NCAA.
The Pistons will enter the free agency period with a bit of uncertainty in their backcourt. Incumbent starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is headed for restricted free agency and figures to have various suitors for his services. Starting point guard Reggie Jackson’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors since the start of last season, so his future with the franchise is also up in the air.
Kennard averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on 49 percent shooting from the floor during his sophomore season at Duke.
The Pistons have the tools to make a playoff run in the East next season and Kennard is in the enviable position, as a rookie, to immediately carve out a role in head coach Stan Van Gundy’s nightly rotation. That’ll definitely ring true in the event that Caldwell-Pope does indeed take his talents elsewhere this offseason.
