NBA Trade Idea Sends Luke Kennard to Rockets

The Houston Rockets get some 3-point shooting help in a mock trade.

Mar 16, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard (10) shoots for three as | Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets are looking for some upgrades in the 3-point shooting department this summer, and they may find one on the trade market.

Bleacher Report suggested an idea of the Rockets trading for Memphis Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard in exchange for Jae'Sean Tate and Jock Landale.

"The up-and-coming Houston Rockets were one of the feel-good stories of this season, but they finished the campaign 20th in points per 100 possessions, 24th in effective field-goal percentage and 23rd in three-point percentage," Bleacher Report writes. "They could use a dedicated floor-spacer and outside shooter like Kennard to loosen things up for Amen Thompson and Jalen Green's slashing and Alperen Şengün's post work. Kennard is a career 43.9 percent three-point shooter, but he's had trouble maintaining a consistent role at each of his last two stops (Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers). The rotation could be crowded in Houston, too. But again, the Rockets could really use a consistent, dangerous threat from the outside."

Kennard, who turns 28 next month, averaged 11 points per game while shooting 45 percent from beyond the 3-point line last season with the Grizzlies.

The price for Kennard's services shouldn't send the Rockets the other way, either. Tate and Landale are two fringe rotation pieces who can provide key minutes in stretches but likely won't be seen as long-term options for the Rockets.

Kennard isn't exactly that either, but he fulfills a need that those two don't, and that should be enough for the Rockets to entertain this offer if it were available.

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