The Clippers made two significant moves this offseason, as they replaced Montrezl Harrell with Serge Ibaka and traded Landry Shamet for Luke Kennard in a three-team deal on Draft night.
Kennard’s tenure in Detroit saw flashes of brilliance in between bouts with injuries, but it’s clear the Clippers are hoping that a healthy Kennard can stay on the floor and provide them with the shooting (and secondary creation) that makes him a valuable asset off the bench. Their commitment to Kennard was shown on Monday as the league approached the extension deadline for players, as they agreed to a robust four-year, $64 million deal with the former Piston to keep him in L.A. for years to come.
Los Angeles Clippers guard Luke Kennard has agreed to a four-year, $64 million contract extension, his agents Aaron Mintz and Dave Spahn of @caa_sports tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2020
There are some stipulations, with just $56 million guaranteed and the other $8 million being in incentives, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, which likely are to mitigate risk should his injury problems persist.
The deal includes $56 million in guaranteed money, with a majority of the additional $8 million in incentives considered reachable, Mintz and Spahn say.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2020
It’s quite the investment in a player who’s only been in L.A. for four preseason games, but he’s proven in his three years in the league that he is a tremendous three-point shooter and a strong offensive weapon. The problem has been health, as he has played just 164 games in three seasons. He’s a career 40 percent three-point shooter and last season in his 28 games showed some increased on-ball ability, which figures to be helpful for a Clippers team that could use some more of that off the bench.
As for L.A., they’ve now locked themselves in to Paul George long-term with a new max extension, as well as Marcus Morris and Kennard at the same 4/64 price tag. That’s a lot of investment and they’ll expect strong return this season in the form of a deep playoff run.
