Luke Kennard reveals ‘aggressive’ mentality in Lakers debut

LOS ANGELES – Newly acquired sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard made his Los Angeles Lakers debut during the team’s 105-99 win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. It was a mere two days after the trade deadline in which the Lakers dealt for Kennard in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks that sent Gabe Vincent and a second round pick to the Hawks.

Following the Lakers’ win against the Warriors, Luke Kennard explained the mentality he came out with in his debut with the team. He knocked down the first shot he took, a 3-pointer, and he acknowledged that he wanted to get a shot up rather quickly upon entering the game.

“I was definitely hunting a shot, trying to get one up. I shot the ball, I looked at my first shot, it was crazy high. But it felt good when it left my hands,” Kennard said. “And again, for me, no matter where I’m at, obviously I’m here, they want me to be aggressive and shoot the ball. But whenever I check in the game, I’m looking for threes and to get them up.”

Kennard finished with 10 points in his first game to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one steal in a little over 26 minutes of play. He shot 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from the 3-point line. He also was part of the lineup that closed out the game in the fourth quarter.

Overall, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was pleased with how Kennard’s debut went.

“Just his ability to make reads and make plays, he’s not a guy you’re going to give the ball to in ISO and then he’s gonna bend the defense. But he’s a smart basketball player and he knows how to play and he knows how to make reads,” Redick said after the game. “He doesn’t always get the assist, but generally speaking, he’s going to attack a closeout. He’s gonna get a shot fake and then swing the ball and that leads to something good. So I thought he was, for his first time with us and getting here yesterday, was really good.”

Prior to the trade, Kennard had appeared in 46 games with the Hawks at a little over 20 minutes per game. He was averaging 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists with splits of 53.8 percent shooting from the field, a league-leading 49.7 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 91.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

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