The Memphis Grizzlies have enjoyed a largely quiet and serene offseason. Their move to draft two-time Naismith award winner Zach Edey garnered a lot of headlines, but they haven't done much outside of that. They are instead banking on better injury luck to restore what was a 51-win team in the 2022-23 season.
So while they haven't made many moves during 2024 NBA free agency, there was one order of business they conducted that should help the Grizzlies reach those heights this year, and that was re-signing Luke Kennard.
The sharpshooting Luke Kennard
The Grizzlies re-signing Luke Kennard to a one-year deal for $11 million is a key move for a number of reasons. The biggest of which is Kennard's prowess as a shooter. Kennard shot 45% from three last season on 6.1 attempts per game. That percentage led the entire NBA among players who took at least six shots from distance per game. Yes, Kennard was the best volume three-point shooter in the NBA last year.
That is par for the course for the former Duke Blue Devil. Kennard's career percentage from deep is a robust 43.9%. He does the majority of that damage on catch-and-shoot jumpers too. Kennard took 4.8 catch-and-shoot threes last season according to NBA.com. He made 48.7% of them, which also led the NBA.
Kennard's role with the Grizzlies has teetered up and down during his tenure with Memphis. A lot of that has to do with his defense, which remains the biggest hiccup in his game. But his shooting is vital for a Grizzlies team that really needs it. Memphis shot 34.2% from three as a team during their 51-win season in 2022-23. However, they only had four players who converted more than 36% of their threes that year.
Two of those players are no longer on the team in Tyus Jones and Danny Green. Kennard and Bane represent the two others. Outside of those two, only Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama made more than 35% of their shots from deep that year. Even those two dipped below that threshold during last year's lost season for the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies have to find shooting anywhere they can. They have one of the best shooters in the league already in Kennard. It was smart to bring him back on a reasonable deal.
Trade chip
Another good aspect of this deal Memphis agreed to with Kennard is that they can trade him if they need to. Kennard is on an expiring deal and is making roughly the league's mid-level exception. Him making that much would allow the Grizzlies to acquire a player with a mid-sized salary fairly easily by including him in the deal if they wanted or needed to.
His salary could also become necessary if the Grizzlies were to go big-game hunting in the trade market. They reportedly offered the Brooklyn Nets four first-round picks for Mikal Bridges back at the 2023 trade deadline, but could not get a deal done, per HoopsHype.
Memphis still has plenty of trade ammunition at their disposal if they want to use it. They have all of their future firsts in their ledger until 2031. If the right player becomes available, they now also have Kennard and his $11 million they can throw in to help make that trade feasible.
The move to re-sign Kennard during the 2024 NBA free agency period was a win on all fronts for the Grizzlies. They didn't lose one of the best shooters in the NBA for nothing. He fills a big need for their team. And, he could help make their team better on the trade market. This was great work by Memphis' front office.
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