The LA Clippers and guard Luke Kennard agreed to a four-year, $56 million rookie contract extension last summer shortly after being traded to Los Angeles. If that deal, which could reach up to $64 million with incentives, wasn't enough proof that the Clippers believed in him, Kennard just doubled down on it.
According to Dirt.com, Kennard has purchased a $5.5 million home in Tarzana. The 7,000 square foot home features five bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms in a community that sits approximately 45 minutes from the Clippers Playa Vista training facility and 40 minutes away from Staples Center.
While Luke Kennard's name will likely be thrown in trade rumors due to his age, potential, and contract, the Clippers plan for him to be a part of their future. In his first season with LA coming off the long layoff due to the knee injury as well as the pandemic, Kennard averaged 8.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, but played just 19.6 minutes per game. He had the sixth best three-point shooting percentage this season (minimum 200 attempts) at 44.6 percent from beyond the arc this year.
With Kawhi Leonard expected to miss a good portion of the 2021-22 season, Luke Kennard's name will likely be called early and often to provide shooting, ball-handling, and floor-spacing. There's a chance Ty Lue and the Clippers elect to start Kennard alongside Reggie Jackson, Paul George, Marcus Morris, and Ivica Zubac.
Late in the season, Kennard told members of the media he made the biggest strides in bringing physicality to his game.
“For me specifically, is just the physicality of my game and bringing physicality to both ends of the floor,” Kennard said in May. “I think it’s been one of the more physical seasons I’ve had, just in terms of like setting screens for some of the bigger guys. Just defensively, playing with more of a sense of urgency and just being physical on the defensive end. So that’s been a big thing for me this year, is just continuing to work on that and on the defensive end. And then just having a mentality of being aggressive every night. I feel like it’s gotten better and better throughout the course of the year. Continuing to work on that and just trying to keep a consistent rhythm and effort every single night.”
If the Clippers are to make some noise next season, Luke Kennard will need to take his game to the next level.
Here's a look at Kennard's new home, via Redfin:
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