Luke Kennard would bring elite shooting to the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA during the 2016-17 season. Could they attempt to solve that problem with their first round pick?

It’s no secret that the Atlanta Hawks were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA in 2016-17. They shot 34.1 percent from outside, which ranked 23rd in the league. The “pace and space” Hawks of 2014-15 were nothing more than a distant memory.

By the end of the season, the Hawks had just two rotation player shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range (Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Mike Muscala). No members of their primary starting five shot better than 35.7 percent from deep. Most of their rotation players shot below 35 percent on three-point attempts. It was rough.

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Is this three-point shooting deficiency something they will look to fix during the 2017 NBA Draft? It’s certainly possible.

There are several potent outside shooters that will available in the top 20. However, one stands above the rest as a perfect fit for the Hawks.

Entering the 2016-17 college basketball season, it was presumed by most that Grayson Allen was the best player on a loaded Duke team. Allen was surrounded by other talented players like freshmen Jayson Tatum, Frank Jackson, and Harry Giles, but Allen was going to be their star.

As it turned out, neither of those players would be Duke’s best during the season. A sophomore from Franklin, Ohio ended up being their best player. During his freshman season Luke Kennard showed flashes of brilliance, but overall he had an up and down year.

He finished the year averaging 11.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game on 42.1 percent shooting and 32 percent from outside. Kennard was pegged as a knockdown shooter coming into his first season in Durham, but his jump-shot was streaky during that first campaign. Still, it was apparent that he was eventually going to develop into an elite shooter and a crafty scorer.

2016-17 was Kennard’s breakout season. He exceeded all expectations, averaging 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game on 48.9 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from three-point range. He also knocked down 85.6 percent of his free-throws.

Kennard’s Blue Devils fell to South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but Kennard’s draft stock was unaffected. On April 6th, Kennard announced that he would declare for the NBA Draft and hire an agent, ending his college career. Originally assumed to be a four-year player, it’s now apparent that Kennard is ready to contribute in the NBA.

Kennard is currently ranked as the 16th best prospect in the NBA Draft by Draft Express, so it’s possible that he gets snatched up before the Hawks are on the clock. Kennard is coveted mostly for his shooting ability, but he can also put the ball on the floor and is a capable playmaker.

Chris Stone of The Step Back thinks Kennard could be a good pick-and-roll ball-handler in the NBA. Kennard is more than just a shooter.

"Over 141 possessions, Kennard created 1.113 PPP via pick-and-roll derived offense, including his own scoring and facilitating, per Synergy Sports. The majority of those possessions — 85 of them to be exact — ended with Kennard either scoring, drawing a foul or committing a turnover. Among players with more than 50 possessions, Kennard ranks No. 1 in the class at 1.106 PPP as the pick-and-roll ball-handler, per Synergy Sports.Most of his offense in these situations is derived from his jump shot, specifically his ability to shoot comfortably off the dribble. Within the grouping of 33 guards evaluated here, Kennard ranks fourth at 1.085 PPP on off-the-dribble jumpers in the halfcourt with an adjusted field goal percentage of 53.1, per Synergy Sports. All three players who were more efficient took less than half as many attempts as the Duke guard. When it comes to combining efficiency and volume, he’s unmatched."

His pick-and-roll ability makes him an even more versatile player, and a player the Hawks should be enticed by. He can play alongside Dennis Schroder as an off the ball scoring threat, and also lead second units as the primary creator. The Hawks would be getting a shooting specialist and a lead guard for their bench unit in the same player.

Kennard is not without his flaws. There is some worry that he will be a below average defensive player and there’s no guarantee that is playmaking will be as effective in the NBA as it was in college, as Stone notes in his scouting report. 

"The obvious question is how much of this Kennard will be able to do in the NBA. If he can be a legitimate secondary creator, it massively boosts his value on the offensive end. The jump shot feels like the skill that is most likely to translate. Kennard is as good as anyone in the class when it comes to shooting and while he’s not an elite athlete, his quick release, craftiness and ability to re-balance himself in mid-air should make him a danger to pull up out of pick-and-roll actions."

It’s fairly likely that Kennard will be gone by the time the Hawks pick 19th overall. If they’re seriously interested in him they could package the 19th pick with a few of their second round picks to move up and take him.

Next: Atlanta Hawks 2016-17 Season Review: Moose

The Hawks desperately need more shooting. Kennard brings an elite level of outside shooting to the table. On paper, this is a match made in heaven.