LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 32–21 record after back-to-back losses to Oklahoma City and San Antonio. The Lakers know their flaws, so they acquired Luke Kennard at the trade deadline to address one of them. Unfortunately, the Lakers have already run into an issue with Luke Kennard: his three-point shooting is not enough.
It Took Three Games For The Lakers To Have A Luke Kennard Issue
Limited Volume, Familiar Problem
Feb 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) and forward Jarred Vanderbilt (middle) and center Jaxson Hayes (11) during the second quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Los Angeles has clear defensive and three-point shooting issues heading into the business end of the season. They made moves to address both at the deadline. The Lakers turned to internal development on defense, rising from 26th in January to 23rd in February despite injury absences. The Lakers acquired Luke Kennard on deadline day in exchange for Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick, to round up on the shooting side.
Through three games, Kennard has started solidly. The problem is not his shooting efficiency. It is his volume. He is not a high-volume scorer. He never has been. Every previous stop learned that in time. That is why Atlanta moved him immediately after acquiring Buddy Hield, a guard with similar production.
Roster Ceiling and Strategic Gamble
The Lakers simply do not have enough high-end players to compete with elite teams. They chose not to change that at the deadline, and Luke Kennard exemplifies that strategy. The alternative was making multiple moves for meaningful upgrades. Instead, Rob Pelinka kept his assets for a summer push. That plan appears to be a long-shot attempt at landing Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kennard has attempted just nine threes through three games, about 3.1 per game. He even started the third game and played 28 minutes, which slightly skews the sample. He and Rui Hachimura are similar. Both are accurate but low-volume shooters. Hachimura is shooting an incredible 44.0 percent from three, but on only 4.1 attempts per game. That totals 7.1 attempts between them. Compare that to Boston’s Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard, who average 13.8 attempts per game combined. They play for the league’s second-best three-point shooting team. That shows how wide the gap is on that end.
So do not get me wrong: Luke Kennard helps the Lakers. He is also a low-risk addition. But it already looks like Luke Kennard’s three-point shooting will be marginal for the Lakers, not impactful. Don’t expect him to make the Lakers a much better shooting team. No. He improves them just on the edges. A summation of the Front office’s priority at this time.
Credit:© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images