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Top 10 NBA title contenders for 2021: Who they added, who they lost
Free Press’ Pistons editor Marlowe Alter looks at 10 NBA title contenders for the 2021 season, examining who they added and lost in the offseason.
Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press
Luke Kennard got paid Monday. Just not by the Detroit Pistons.
The Los Angeles Clippers are giving Kennard a four-year, $64 million contract, according to his agents, with $56 million guaranteed. He would have become a restricted free agent after the 2021 season if the two parties did not agree to a deal by Monday’s deadline.
The Pistons dealt Kennard to the Clippers as part of a three-team deal with the Brooklyn Nets on draft night Nov. 18. The Pistons acquired the No. 19 overall pick in the deal and drafted Villanova forward Saddiq Bey, as first-year general manager Troy Weaver went to work remaking the roster in his first offseason.
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In the three-team blockbuster, the Pistons acquired Rodney McGruder, Dzanan Musa — who they waived Sunday — the draft rights to Jaylen Hands and Toronto’s 2021 second-round draft pick. The Pistons shipped out Kennard and four second-round picks to the Clippers (Portland’s in 2023, their own from 2024-26), and sent Bruce Brown to the Nets. Brooklyn acquired shooting guard Landry Shamet in the deal from the Clippers.
The Pistons don’t have their own second-round pick until 2027.
“This is quite a deal for Kennard, and I think reflective of teams + agents digesting that so many potential free agents went off the board,” tweeted ESPN senior NBA writer Zach Lowe. “That scarcity can push sides toward deals in some cases, and away from deals in others as agents up demands in anticipation of a hot market.”
Kennard looks like a nice complement to the Clippers’ star frontcourt of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, two of the league’s best defenders. They should help hide Kennard’s defensive deficiencies, and allow his offense to flourish as a catch-and-shoot and tertiary playmaker in pick-and-roll.
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Kennard, 24, was selected 12th overall in the 2017 draft by the Pistons’ Stan Van Gundy regime. He proved to be a productive and efficient offensive player, but dealt with injuries in each of his three seasons. Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell, the player taken one pick after him, quickly rose to stardom with the Utah Jazz.
Last season, Kennard averaged 15.8 points, 4.1 assists and shot 39.9%, but played in only 28 games due to bilateral tendinitis in his knees. He said he was in the “best shape” of his career during the Pistons’ bubble workouts in the fall before the trade.
He started 44 of 164 games in three seasons with the Pistons, averaging of 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 40.2% 3-point shooting.
Follow Marlowe Alter on Twitter: @Marlowe Alter.
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