On Tuesday morning, the Los Angeles Lakers were informed that LeBron James will not be re-signing with them in free agency. Hours later, they found out that they had lost another rotation player in free agency.
Luke Kennard, a sharpshooting guard whom they traded for at midseason, reportedly agreed to a new contract with the Phoenix Suns. That new contract, per ESPN, will pay him $13 million over the next two seasons.
“Free agent guard Luke Kennard has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Phoenix Suns, with a player option for the second season, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.”
The Lakers obtained Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks just hours before the trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a second-round draft pick in 2032. With them, he averaged nine points a game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 44.8% from 3-point range. In the playoffs, with Luka Doncic unable to play due to a hamstring strain and Austin Reaves out for the first four games with an oblique strain, Kennard put up 11.5 points a game.
He is second all-time in NBA history in 3-point accuracy at 44.2%. This past season, he led the NBA in that category for the third time in his career.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers lose Luke Kennard in free agency to Suns
