The Los Angeles Lakers weren't the most active team at the trade deadline, but the biggest deal that they made was to acquire Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Gabe Vincent and a future second-round pick. 

Kennard is a nine-year veteran of the NBA stands out as an energetic guard with length that can round out a Lakers bench that has been thin on impact players. At 6'5, he'll be able to provide decent size matchups with opposing guards when he rotates in off the bench. Kennard also stands out for one other reason: his shooting.

He's the most efficient three point shooter in the NBA with a league-best 49.7% three point percentage. That efficiency has translated into 1.6 three pointers made per game and 7.9 points per game in an average of 20.5 minutes which shows that while he might not shoot often, he's precise when he does. 

Kennard will be reuniting with a few old teammates on the Lakers in Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia, who all played together on the Grizzlies from 2023-25, though LaRavia and Smart were both traded away from Memphis during the 2024-25 season. 

"One of the better shooters in this league. He comes to work every day and I'm excited to see him out here with us again, me and Jake [LaRavia]. Keep going what we had in Memphis," Smart said (via The Sporting Tribune). 

LaRavia and Kennard's Memphis history goes back to the 2022-23 season, one season before Smart joined them. LaRavia made his debut with the Grizzlies that season while Kennard was traded over midseason from the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Kennard may not address the Lakers' defensive issues that have been talked about all season, but he is another impact scorer that can back up Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

With Kennard's perimeter being his most obvious trait, he can either attract defensive attention on the outside that can open lanes for LeBron James or Rui Hachiumura. Alternatively, the attention that players like James would warrant defensively can free up Kennard to remain an unguarded threat and deliver the occasional three ball.  

Ultimately, the Lakers have achieved so much success at this point in the season with their roster intact and with their limited draft capital to use in the trade market, they weren't in as much of a position to make splashes at the deadline anyways.

Kennard enhances the offense even further and with his connection with Smart and LaRavia, his presence could have leveled up the Lakers bench another notch.