Vit Krejci's historic run has officially put Luke Kennard on the hot seat

Vit Krejci has been on a historic run from behind the arc; over his last three games, Krejci has nailed 17 threes on 23 attempts, a 73.9% clip. Only four players have ever achieved this feat over a three-game span, with Dale Ellis being the sole player to best Krejci’s percentage.

While this run is unsustainable and Krejci will fall back to earth, it forces the Hawks to accept a harsh reality: they never needed Luke Kennard.

Kennard has been one of the best shooters in the league over his career, averaging an unheard of 45% from beyond the arc across a five-year timespan. When paired with his quietly sound playmaking ability, Kennard is a punch of instant offense that almost any team could use on their bench. Atlanta has historically struggled with spacing and playmaking off the bench, so his fit seemed natural.

The only problem? Atlanta already had Krejci in this role. The two players share almost the exact same profile, with Kennard being a more proven shooter and Krejci having a more natural playmaking feel. While one of these players is a valuable asset to a team’s rotation, having two is a waste of cap space. They cannot realistically play together without compromising their defense, and neither player belongs in the starting five.

It makes more sense to keep Krejci than Kennard

For context, Kennard is 29 and Krejci is 24. Kennard is on an expiring $11 million deal, while Krejci's contract expires the following year and is worth an average of $2.5 million.

Through 11 Hawks games, Kennard has performed below the expectations set for him. He has only taken 3.6 attempts a night, as the sharpshooter has passed up the very looks the Hawks paid him to take. This is likely due to the increased playmaking burden placed on him because of the Hawks’ lack of playmaking options behind Trae Young. Still, if Kennard cannot balance being a playmaker and a shooter, he is inherently less valuable to the team than Krejci.

Unlike Kennard, Krejci made the NBA with his playmaking skill – he didn’t develop a passable three ball until his third NBA season. What makes Vit’s breakthrough so unique is how quickly his shooting percentage climbed. After shooting 31.1% over his first two seasons, Krejci has not fallen below 40%. With the flip of a switch, or more accurately, with a summer of hard work, Krejci leaped from a poor shooter to one of the most efficient in the league.

To be clear, Krejci won’t solve Atlanta’s lack of primary creation right now, but neither will Kennard. While Kennard is the more proven shooter, Krejci has the confidence to shoot the shots that Kennard won’t. Krejci’s three point diet consists of what would be considered “bad shots” for an average shooter, which is what you want from your three point specialist. You want Kennard and Krejci to shoot movement threes, quick shots in transition, and other looks that force the defense to overreact to the threat of their deep ball.

If Kennard can’t carry the playmaking load or feel comfortable launching movement threes, why would the Hawks keep him? More importantly, if Kennard is earning $8.7 million more than Krejci and is on a shorter deal, why would the Hawks choose him over Vit "Heat Czech" Krejci?

Kennard is on a 1-year, $11 million contract – a perfectly-sized deal to trade for an elite bench option. If Krejci can maintain just a fraction of his hot spell over the past three games, Kennard will be out of Atlanta soon.