The Nuggets’ means to improve the roster this offseason are severely limited, but one player they may actually be able to acquire fairly simply is Luke Kennard of the Memphis Grizzlies. Kennard is set to become a free agent this summer, and with the limited available cap space around the league, he may have to settle for the taxpayer mid-level, something Denver has at their disposal.
Denver can offer Kennard the TPMLE, which is roughly $5.7 million per season, and that may be the best offer he gets. Either way, it should be close enough to get them to the bargaining table, where they can sell him on his fit alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Bill Simmons points to Kennard as perfect fit
Bill Simmons mentioned Kennard to the Nuggets on his most recent podcast with Zach Lowe. He explained that he had found their perfect guy to replace Westbrook this offseason, saying Kennard would basically have unlimited good looks with Jokic and would thrive as a pure, knockdown shooter.
Simmons seemed to think Kennard could run the offense in a sort of point guard role, running the second unit similarly to how Westbrook did. I’m not sure I see that happening, but I can certainly get behind the shooting gravity around Jokic.
Kennard would be a boon for Nuggets' spacing
Kennard has been one of the best three-point shooters in the league, leading the NBA in percentage on multiple occasions, and averaging 43.8% from deep over the course of his eight-year career on 4.5 attempts per game.
The Nuggets haven’t had a marksman like that in ages, especially at the guard position. It would be great to see him either starting or coming off the bench, and burying open threes on high volume for a team that so badly needs just that.
The problem for Kennard has mostly been his defense, which has kept him off the floor at times and caused him to fall mostly out of the Grizzlies’ rotation down the stretch last season. But if Kennard were a perfect player, he wouldn’t be available to the Nuggets in the first place.
Nuggets must crush this offseason
They’ll have to cover up for him defensively and find creative ways to make it work, but at this point, it would be worth it for Denver to add this level of shooting and spacing to their offense. Given his uber-elite shooting, this also feels like a safe move with a very reliable floor.
That’s important because the Nuggets completely wasted the TPMLE last season on Dario Saric, who proved to be unplayable in the first weeks of the season. Denver absolutely cannot risk that outcome again and needs to nail their use of limited assets, with this being, perhaps, their most valuable one this offseason.
It’s hardly a no-brainer, and there will be some other players worth discussing, but there’s nothing wrong with locking up one of the best shooters in the entire NBA.