The Hawks officially have veteran guard Luke Kennard under contract. The team announced the sharpshooter’s signing on Tuesday evening.
“We’re excited to add Luke to our group,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said in a statement provided by the team. “Luke is a great connector. He’s an elite shooter and proven playmaker with a high basketball IQ and team-first mentality. He fills multiple needs for us, and we believe he’s going to make our team better.”
Drafted 12th overall by the Pistons in the 2017 NBA draft, Kennard has a long resume, including tying new teammate Trae Young in the 2022 NBA 3-Point Contest at All-Star weekend. Kennard has played for the Pistons, as well as the Clippers and the Grizzlies.
Last season with the Grizzlies, Kennard averaged 8.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 22.6 minutes of action across 65 games. He shot 43.3% from 3 and has shot 40% or better from long range in each of his last five seasons. He is the only qualified player in the NBA to do so over that time, per Elias Sports.
Kennard has made appearances in 28 career playoff games, including two starts across four postseasons. In the playoffs, he has averaged 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and one assist in 19.3 minutes on 44% shooting from deep, the fifth-best postseason 3-point shooting percentage among active players.
A 43.8% career shooter, Kennard has the highest 3-point percentage amongst all active players in the NBA and the third-highest in NBA history. He trails only Steve Kerr (45.4%) and Hubert Davis (44.1%).
He led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He became just the third player in NBA history to lead the league in 3-point shooting percentage in back-to-back seasons, along with Hawks assistant general manager Kyle Korver (2013-14 and 2014-15) and Jason Kapono (2006-07 and 2007-08), per Elias Sports.
Here’s a look at what the Hawks’ roster looks like.
In
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker
- Kobe Bufkin
- Dyson Daniels
- Mouhamed Gueye (not guaranteed)
- Jalen Johnson
- Luke Kennard
- Vit Krejci (not guaranteed)
- Asa Newell
- Onyeka Okongwu
- Kristaps Porzingis
- Zaccharie Risacher
- Trae Young
Two-way contract
- Eli Ndiaye
Options tendered
- Jacob Toppin (restricted)
- Keaton Wallace (restricted)
TBD
- Garrison Mathews (unrestricted)
Out
- Dominick Barlow (Hawks declined team option)
- Clint Capela (traded to Rockets)
- Caris LeVert (agreed to terms with Pistons)
- Terance Mann (traded to Nets)
- Larry Nance Jr. (signed with Cavaliers)
- Georges Niang (traded to Celtics)
- David Roddy (waived July 7)
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