{"id":187154,"date":"2026-04-06T11:09:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=187154"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:09:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:09:28","slug":"lakers-decision-on-luke-kennard-just-got-a-massive-reality-check-after-first-career-triple-double","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/06\/lakers-decision-on-luke-kennard-just-got-a-massive-reality-check-after-first-career-triple-double\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Decision On Luke Kennard Just Got A Massive Reality Check"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> lost their first game against the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> since they announced the injuries of Luka Doncic<\/a> and Austin Reaves<\/a>. The purple and gold pushed the game to overtime thanks to the herculean efforts of LeBron James<\/a>, Jaxson Hayes<\/a>, Rui Hachimura<\/a>, and Luke Kennard.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lakers Decision On Luke Kennard Just Got A Massive Reality Check With His First Career Triple-Double<\/h2>\n

Kennard\u2019s Breakout Performance<\/h3>\n
\"Mar
Mar 30, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) and forward LeBron James (23) defend on the court in the second half against the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite missing two 21-points-per-game scorers, LeBron and the bench pushed the game to overtime. Luke Kennard delivered an unexpected milestone for the Lakers on Sunday, recording the first triple-double of his NBA career. He finished with a 15-point, 16-rebound, and 11-assist triple-double.<\/p>\n

Currently the league leader in three-point percentage, he showed he can take on more duties beyond his usual perimeter shooting role.<\/p>\n

From Low-Risk Trade to Core Piece<\/h3>\n

The Lakers front office did not believe in this team\u2019s chances to compete, so at the trade deadline they made a low-stakes move to flip Gabe Vincent<\/a> and a second-round pick for Kennard. With an NBA career as a journeyman, he understandably arrived in Los Angeles with little fanfare.<\/p>\n

Kennard has instantly adapted to life in the purple and gold. The team now views him as a priority re-signing<\/a>. He has found an unlikely permanent home in California.<\/p>\n

A Case for a Long-Term Deal<\/h3>\n

This triple-double confirms the flashes he has shown since the All-Star break. He continues to expand the ways he impacts the game. Rob Pelinka has promised to build a contender around Doncic this summer. Kennard is making a strong case for a multi-year contract to stay in Los Angeles. Kennard has already shown that he can shoot the three-ball at a high level alongside Doncic.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/04\/6ced5b29-c147-45b4-3786-8812477507c7_1280x720.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

More Than Just Shooting<\/h3>\n

In this game, Kennard showed he can impact the game at a high level even when he is not shooting well. He went 1-for-5 from three-point range. That versatility is valuable for the Lakers moving forward, even in the short term.<\/p>\n

On paper, the Lakers aim to hold the fort until Don\u010di\u0107 and Reaves return. In reality, it could be much harder to implement. A key factor to their success will be how well Kennard and LeBron complement each other. His ability to set quality guard screens for LeBron will help unlock the King\u2019s three-point shooting without the gravity of his co-stars.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/04\/1a64d936-a222-fbaf-dd96-bd017be07d77_1280x720.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

A Decision Point for the Front Office<\/h3>\n

Rob Pelinka has missed on several moves during his tenure in Los Angeles. So far, Kennard looks like a clear success. With Luke Kennard\u2019s first triple-double as a Laker, Pelinka may need to rethink the contract he is willing to offer him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Los Angeles Lakers lost their first game against the Dallas Mavericks since they announced the injuries of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The purple and gold pushed the game to overtime thanks to the herculean efforts of LeBron James, Jaxson Hayes, Rui Hachimura, and Luke Kennard. Lakers Decision On Luke Kennard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":187212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,26,3],"tags":[50244,38,769,50251],"class_list":["post-187154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-news","tag-2025-26-nba-season","tag-lebron-james","tag-luke-kennard","tag-nba-contract"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187154"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":187219,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187154\/revisions\/187219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}