Another Duke basketball standout saw a major payday.
Despite the struggles of 2020, the year has been very good to Duke basketball standouts in terms of their bank accounts.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported on Monday afternoon that former Blue Devil and current Los Angeles Clipper Luke Kennard agreed to a four-year, $64 million extension with his new team.
Kennard was traded from the Detroit Pistons to the Clippers in arguably the biggest trade of the 2020 NBA Draft after being selected by Detroit with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
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The new contract for the shooting guard includes $56 million in guaranteed money, with $8 million in incentives that can be earned throughout the duration of the deal, the report states.
The deal includes $56 million in guaranteed money, with a majority of the additional $8 million in incentives considered reachable, Mintz and Spahn say.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2020
Despite only playing 28 games last year because of a knee injury, Kennard posted his best season in his three years with the Pistons, averaging 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on 44.2 percent shooting from the field and 39.9 percent from 3-point range.
If Luke Kennard and the Los Angeles Clippers did not agree to a new deal by Monday, the former Duke basketball star would have become a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 season.
Luke Kennard joins a list of Duke basketball players to see paydays in offseason
On the eve of the 2020-21 NBA regular season, Luke Kennard joined a long list of former Blue Devils to ink their names to major contract extensions, headlined by Kennard’s former teammates in Durham, Jayson Tatum and Brandon Ingram.
Tatum and Ingram agreed to max extensions with the Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively.
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In his final season at Duke, Kennard was named as the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 ACC Tournament and averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game on 48.9 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from deep.
Luke Kennard and the Los Angeles Clippers will begin their 2020-21 season against the defending NBA Champion and crosstown rival Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, December 22 at 10:00pm EST (TNT).