SVG was brutally honest in assessing his first-round draft pick; Kennard’s a deft shooter who didn’t show much defensively
Detroit Pistons president Stan Van Gundy was gushing over Luke Kennard’s offensive game.
The Pistons first-round pick can shoot the three-pointer, score off the dribble and create for others.
Then he turned to Kennard’s defense.
Oh, his defense.
“He’s got to get a lot better, and quite honestly, in my opinion, he’s got to take a lot more pride in it than he did this past year, ” Van Gundy said about an hour after the Pistons used the 12th pick on the Duke sharpshooter .
“Whether it was carrying the offensive load or what it was, he’s got to change his entire defensive approach. That’s the answer to him being able to get on the floor. He’s got to do that to be able to play.”
Leave it to Van Gundy to keep it real.
But for now, Van Gundy is ecstatic that they were able to add the draft’s best shooter to the worst shooting team in the league.
A more athletic option – Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell was on the board – but Van Gundy opted for the better shooter.
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And he was emphatic that Kennard projects to be more than a shooter.
“He can really play offensively, ” Van Gundy said. “He’s a skilled guy with a polished offensive game. He can shoot the ball. He’s got great, great footwork. I think everyone looks at him as a shooter, but what I really like is he can make plays off the dribble. He can pass the ball. We said from an offensive standpoint, going in the summer, in terms of what we wanted to work on in how we developed our players and what we wanted to add to the roster were two things: Three-point shooting and guys who can make plays, create shots for themselves and other people. He can do both of those.”
The draft is the ultimate night for draft prospects and Kennard expressed the requisite excitement.
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“You know, it’s a dream come true, ” Kennard said shortly after his name was called in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“I’ m sure guys have said that, but it really is. I worked my entire life for a moment like this, and to be able to go to Detroit and make an impact any way I can, I’ m just looking forward to it, and it’s a great opportunity.”
There was some draft drama. It looked for a second that either North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith or Kentucky scorer Malik Monk might be available.
But the Dallas Mavericks selected Smith at No. 9.
Monk went off the board just ahead of the Pistons to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 11.
SVG said the draft went according to plan – unlike most years.
“I don’ t think we really had a surprise in the whole thing, ” he said. “You never get into comparisons of guys, I mean there is a lot of good players there at 12, but I just think that in our minds Luke was the best offensive wing player on the board there. He can really play offensively.”
If Kennard can find his way into the playing rotation, he should be able to help in one area.
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The Pistons were the worst shooting team in the league last season, finishing 28th in three-point shooting (33%) and dead last in true shooting percentage.
Kennard offers promise as more than a shooter. He’s a skilled player with the ability to score off the catch and off the bounce.
He’s 6-foot-5, solid size for a shooting guard.
He averaged of 19.5 points and shot nearly 44% from three-point range. Kennard averaged more than five free throws per game, an impressive number of attempts.
Kennard, who turns 21 on Saturday, joins an organization that’s coming off a down season.
After a 44-38 season and competitive four-game sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, the Pistons were expected to build on that success.
But Reggie Jackson’s sore left knee forced him to miss the first 21 games.
When he returned, he was a diminished and the Pistons suffered from the down season of their most important offensive player.
There is some energy around the franchise because it is moving to downtown Detroit to play in Little Caesars Arena after spending nearly 30 years at the Palace of Auburn Hills in northern Oakland County.
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Before the draft, Van Gundy described a draft board broken down into separate tiers.
There is a top tier – guys probably like Washington point guard Markelle Fultz, UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball and Kansas forward Josh Jackson.
Then there was the next tier.
And that’s where Kennard comes in. He leaves Duke after two seasons.
He will likely be behind Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. And Van Gundy the coach, is known for being tough on rookies.
“I think playing under (Van Gundy) gives me a great opportunity to learn and develop as a player, so I’ m really looking forward to that.”
Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.
