Luke Kennard was introduced to the media for the first time as the Phoenix Suns officially opened their 2026-27 campaign, and he quickly revealed that he has been encouraged to shoot more 3-pointers than ever before. In theory, that sounds great, but if they do not go in at a near 40 percent rate, it is going to impact his ability to earn more money in the future.
Kennard letting it fly at high clip could cost him in future
Kennard led the entire league in 3-point shooting last season (a ridiculous 47.8 percent success rate), while he's a career 44.2 percent shooter. He averages 4.3 attempts each night heading into year 10, though it was down to 3.1 when suiting up for the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks last season.
Clearly, Kennard was getting high-quality looks with those teams, and that may not be the case this season.
The Suns have clear spacing issues, and it says it all that third-string center Duop Reath may be the solution to some of those woes. For context, the departed Grayson Allen was taking a shade under nine attempts from beyond the arc last season, and Kennard will be expected to replace that level of production.
The problem is he is neither the secondary creator nor defender that Allen is, so if his shot is not falling, he does not bring any other skills at an elite level to this group. With so much of the opponent's game plan when Kennard is on the court focused on stopping him from taking open 3-pointers, if his makes dip and he is providing nothing else, his stock will plummet.
Nabbing Kennard at $6.5 million a year for two seasons was great business, but it ignores the fact that he was available at that price in the first place. He has been played off the court in the playoffs in the past, and there is a chance that he could be the next Yuta Watanabe in Phoenix. Making and taking a lot of triples could mask this, but the question at hand is whether he can.
Kennard can be spot-up shooter Suns need to excel
There is a best-case scenario for all involved here, and Kennard clearly believes in it: Lead the Suns in 3-point shooting for two seasons and turn that into a longer deal either in The Valley or elsewhere to secure one final payday before calling it a career.
The coaching staff is right to tell Kennard to let it fly as often as possible once the games begin, but he has to be aware he could be shooting himself out of future earnings if they don't go in as they have before. If he ups the attempts but dips in efficiency, the guard will be in trouble.
