Luke Kennard leaving Lakers for Suns in free agency

Luke Kennard won’t return to the Lakers for the 2026-27 season. 

The free agent guard is leaving the Lakers for the Suns in free agency after just half a season with the Lakers.

Kennard, who was an unrestricted free agent, agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal that was first reported by ESPN.

One of the league’s best shooters since entering the league out of Duke in 2017, Kennard led the league in 3-point shooting percentage (47.8%) for the third time in his career. 

After the Lakers acquired Kennard from the Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick, Kennard averaged 9 points (44.8% shooting on 3-pointers), 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32 regular season games.

The highlight of his regular season with the Lakers was, after a brief shooting slump, knocking down the game-winning 3-pointer against the Magic on March 21 to give the Lakers their season-best ninth-straight win. 

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Kennard’s production ticked up when star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves suffered regular season-ending injuries in early April.

He averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals over the Lakers’ next four games as a primary ball handler.

And in the playoffs, he continued to step up, leading the Lakers with a team-best 21 points in their Game 1 victory over the Rockets in the first round, scoring 23 points in their Game 2 win and recording 14 points and 6 assists in the Game 3 victory. 

Kennard averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3 assists in six-game opening round series victory over the Rockets, and 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the Lakers’ playoff run that ended with a second-round sweep to the Thunder.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com