Philadelphia 76ers: Langston Galloway, Luke Kennard are B- trade targets

Luke Kennard

Of the two, Kennard is probably the bigger name, and for good reason. A former lottery pick out of Duke, Kennard is a 6-foot-5 shooter who knocks down 3 pointers at a 40 percent clip. Kennard is also in the midst of a bit of a breakout season, averaging 15.8 points in 32.9 minutes of action a night as the Pistons’ starting two-guard.

Kennard is also fairly capable of creating his own shot as a secondary playmaker despite playing alongside a solid playmaker in Derrick Rose, as he averages 5.8 field goal attempts a game split pretty evenly between the restricted area (1.8), the paint (1.9), and the midrange (2.1).

So on paper, that player could really help the Sixers, right? Correct, but how much is the question?

First and foremost, Kennard is not a particularly elite athlete at the shooting guard position and has never been more than a defensive non-factor over his first 160 odd NBA games. Factor in a knee injury that could keep Kennard out of the lineup for the rest of January and the potential for his stats to dip in a smaller role, and it’s worth wondering just how much of an improvement Kennard presents over Furkan Korkmaz.

I guess the duo could play together, but that leaves two defensive non-factor on the court – potentially three if Trey Burke is at the point.

And then there’s the price.

Of the two, Kennard will likely cost the most to acquire because of his pedigree and starter status and could require as much as a young player(s) and a first-round pick (the Thunder’s protected 2020 pick) to get a deal done.

Upside, Luke Kennard fills the role the Philadelphia 76ers have been missing since J.J. Redick up and left for the open carry laws of Bourbon Street, but he could also very well end up being another slow, defensively deficient shooting guard with a decently high usage rate.