Following up several months of dormancy, the Memphis Grizzlies have officially upped their activity over the past few weeks.
After kicking things off with the trade that sent Ziaire Williams to the Brooklyn Nets back on July 19, most recently Zach Kleiman and company have struck again with the long-awaited re-signing of sharpshooter Luke Kennard, who agreed to terms on a one-year, $11 million deal this past Wednesday.
The new financial pact brings several positive impacts back to Grind City in ripple effect fashion, as his services as a long-range specialist will play a crucial role in Memphis executing a bounce-back season following their putrid 27-55 run in 2023-24.
While there are expected to be many positive impacts to come from this newfound agreement, perhaps none benefits more from Kennard’s return than superstar Ja Morant, who, following the news break on this deal, headed to X (formerly Twitter) to share his excitement by way of a cryptic, albeit obvious emoji-driven message.
Ja Morant reacts on X to Memphis Grizzlies signing of Luke Kennard
A stark contrast to his reaction to Williams’ departure just a few weeks back, Kennard’s skill set is only bound to complement Morant’s on-court excellence as it has since he landed with the Grizzlies mid-way through the 2022-23 season.
A lights-out long-range shooter, the 28-year-old has served as a valuable off-ball asset for the superstar guard, as he’s been the recipient of countless drive-and-kick sets spearheaded by the attack-oriented Morant.
When the recipient of quick dish-out dimes, Kennard has managed to cash in on a highly efficient 48.7 percent of his shot attempts from deep and 48.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot attempts as a whole throughout his one-and-a-half year tenure, ranking him fourth in both categories during this time frame.
Through 41 regular season games played together, the duo have accumulated a record of 27-14.
