The Los Angeles Lakers have lost their sharpshooting guard, Luke Kennard, to the Phoenix Suns just hours after the official beginning of NBA free agency. The 30-year-old free agent guard has reportedly agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal to now head to Phoenix, Arizona.
“Free agent sharpshooter Luke Kennard has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Phoenix Suns, with a player option for the second season, sources tell ESPN,” wrote senior NBA insider Shams Charania on X.
“Kennard’s agents, Aaron Mintz and Dave Spahn of CAA Sports, committed to the new deal with Phoenix moments ago. So far this offseason, the Suns have retained their own top free agents in Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin, acquired Miles Bridges, and now land Kennard among multiple suitors,” he further added.
The shooting guard ended the 2025-26 season averaging 8.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 88 games played (including the playoffs). He shot an incredible 52.6% from the field and 47.7% from behind the three-point line.
Phoenix traded away Grayson Allen to land Miles Bridges and thus needs a sharpshooter to replace him. Kennard perfectly slips into that role. Meanwhile, the Lakers have already begun looking for sharpshooters elsewhere. But arguably, none of them are as good as Kennard can be on his best days.
Kennard was arguably the reason why the Lakers managed to stun the Rockets in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. His 27-point performance carried their offense in the absence of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. So he has proven that he can step up in the highest-pressure moments as well.
Subsequently, ClutchPoints’ NBA insider, Brett Siegel, also reported that along with Kennard, the Lakers are expected to lose Rui Hachimura in free agency.
“Along with Luke Kennard departing the Lakers tonight, starting forward Rui Hachimura is also widely expected to leave the Lakers in free agency, sources said. The Spurs, along with a few other teams, are making a push to sign Hachimura tonight,” he wrote on X.
Yossi Gozlan, a salary cap expert, also perfectly explained the impact of this signing on the Suns’ cap sheet.
“The Suns can sign Luke Kennard to a two-year, $12.4 million deal with the taxpayer mid-level exception. They can give him this with the non-tax mid-level if they get under the first apron. This signing offsets the $30 million in luxury tax savings from the Miles Bridges trade,” he wrote on X.
With Luke Kennard potentially getting the Taxpayer MLE of $6.1 million, the Suns are expected to be about $4.9 million under their second-apron hard cap. Their roster is now at 15 players on standard deals.
I don’t think Kennard will, however, earn a starting five role over Devin Booker, Jalen Green, or Dillon Brooks, for that matter (since he can also play as the small forward in a three-guard lineup). Meanwhile, the Lakers will also have to look for his replacements on their roster.
It will certainly be interesting to see how Kennard fits on the roster in Phoenix, and what the Lakers do in the aftermath of his exit.
