Ball Durham
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Pistons Trade for Bradley and put Kennard on the back burner

By Matthew Travis

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: Luke Kennard walks on stage with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted 12th overall by the Detroit Pistons during the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: Luke Kennard walks on stage with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted 12th overall by the Detroit Pistons during the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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The Pistons have just traded for Avery Bradley only two weeks after drafting Luke Kennard. This means that the rookie Blue Devils minutes will be impacted in a big way.

On July 7th the Pistons sent Marcus Morris to join Jayson Tatum and the Celtics in Boston. In return Detroit got one of the best shooting guards in the league, Avery Bradley. Now you might be thinking “that’s great but what does that have to do with Duke basketball.”

The Pistons drafted Luke Kennard with the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft on June 23rd. We, as Duke fans therefore thought this was the perfect situation for Kennard.

We thought he would be going to a team without a shooting guard and he would potentially start or get large minutes off the bench. Last season Avery Bradley averaged 35.8 minutes per game and helped lead the Boston Celtics to the 1 seed in the East… If the Pistons decide to use Bradley the same way that the Celtics did this means Kennard will be left with a little over 12 minutes per game, and thats if Detroit decides to use only two shooting guards.

Kennard did however get good news the other day with the announcement that Kendavious Caldwell Pope would be leaving Detroit for the Lakers. This pretty much cements Kennard’s position as a backup behind Avery Bradley.

Luke Kennard had a strong outing in the summer league, averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Those numbers should definitely allow him to get a lot of minutes off the bench behind Avery Bradley.

Depending on how the Pistons decide to use Kennard and Bradley we could see Detroit play with three guards. They could quite possibly slide Avery Bradley into the three, and keep Kennard at the two and sit Tobias Harris.

If Luke Kennard puts up numbers like he did at Duke this past season it’s going to be hard not to start him. For this reason we may see either Bradley and or Kennard get minutes at small forward in order to utilize both of their skills.

Next: Duke's Starting Five Without Early NBA Departures

What was possibly the best possible situation for Luke Kennard has turned into a potential disaster for the former Blue Devil.

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