The Detroit Pistons have continued to sneak into the postseason as of late, though the once heralded Eastern Conference franchise has failed to return to the top of the standings over the course of the last few several years. With several players underperforming along the way, including former Duke Blue Devils swingman Luke Kennard, the Pistons higher-ups have been forced to answer quite a few questions early on this offseason.
However, it does not appear as though the Pistons are giving up on Kennard just yet, as senior advisor Ed Stefanski apparently still believes in the up-and-comer.
“People wanted him traded at the deadline,” Stefanski recently told Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “Luke is terrific. Arguably, Luke was our best player in the series versus Milwaukee. He’s only two years in.”
The soon-to-be 23-year-old Kennard was originally selected by the Pistons with the No. 12 overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft out of Duke.
“We're so impatient in the NBA and we could go through all the rosters and show the players in the third and fourth year and that’s what we have to do: be patient with these guys and I think it’ll pay off,” Stefanski added.
Just recently finishing up his second NBA season — one that saw the Pistons clinch the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference — Kennard has already appeared in 136 career regular season games and averaged 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists across 21.3 minutes per outing.
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