Lakers’ Luke Kennard: ‘I will shoot it. I will be aggressive’

The Lakers may have only made one move at the deadline, but they believe it was the right one.

Los Angeles sent Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for Luke Kennard, a deal the Lakers viewed as a clear upgrade in shooting.

President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka didn’t dance around that part.

“When you get to add the best shooter in the game to your group at the deadline, it’s a great opportunity,” Pelinka said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “So we seized it.”

Pelinka also pushed back on the idea that the Lakers were quiet. According to Benjamin Royer of the Southern California News Group, Los Angeles explored a wide range of options before settling on Kennard.

“We were very aggressive,” Pelinka said. “We worked incredibly hard. We evaluated numerous things. We got close on some things, but we feel good about the move we made.”

Head coach JJ Redick is already on board. Redick said he plans to encourage Kennard to shoot more, something that has followed him throughout his career.

“I know that’s what they want me to do,” Kennard said, per The Athletic. “I will shoot it. I will be aggressive.”

Kennard’s debut backed that up. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 26 minutes.

The Lakers didn’t overhaul their roster. They added a specialist they trust.