Suns and Luke Kennard reach $13 million, two-year agreement to add shooting punch

The Phoenix Suns have agreed in principle to a $13 million, two-year deal with veteran guard Luke Kennard, according to an AP source cited by Yahoo Sports. The signing, if finalized, is a targeted response to a specific roster need: adding reliable long-range accuracy around the Suns’ existing core.

Kennard, listed at 6-foot-5, enters the agreement with a nine-year NBA track record defined by outside shooting. Over that span, he has connected on 44.2% of his 3-point attempts, a figure that has kept him in the conversation as one of the more dependable spot-up options in the league. For a team that values spacing as a foundation for both half-court shooting and open-lane driving, that skill set is often treated as rotation-level impact rather than a niche specialty.

The timing matters because Phoenix’s offseason has included a significant shift in its perimeter personnel. Yahoo Sports’ report says the Suns traded Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for forward Miles Bridges, a move described as one that cost the Suns some of their outside shooting “over the weekend.” In that context, Kennard’s projected role reads as continuity, not experimentation.

Allen and O’Neale had represented different but complementary types of shooting and spacing, and their departure changes how Phoenix could space the floor on consecutive possessions. Kennard’s profile suggests the Suns are seeking a shooter who can occupy defenders on the catch and in motion, helping teammates create driving and passing windows. That kind of spacing can also affect defensive positioning, where opponents are forced to account for where the ball is likely to go next.

Kennard’s value will likely be judged less by volume and more by shot quality and defensive attention. A guard who consistently converts from deep changes the math for teams guarding pick-and-rolls and drive-and-kick sequences. Even when Phoenix is not running a pure shooting-first scheme, the threat of a quick, high-percentage pull-up or catch-and-shoot attempt can tilt matchups late in games.

For the Hornets, the earlier Allen and O’Neale deal reshaped Charlotte’s wing and backcourt look by adding players with established NBA shooting roles. Bridges’ inclusion, meanwhile, brings Phoenix a different style of forward play. From Phoenix’s perspective, Kennard appears positioned to balance that trade-driven shift by replenishing perimeter shooting that may have been affected when Allen and O’Neale moved on.

What to watch next is simple: whether the Suns can translate the reported agreement into on-court spacing that holds up under real game conditions, especially once preseason lineups reveal how Phoenix chooses to integrate Kennard’s shooting with the rotation after the Bridges transaction. If the deal is completed, Phoenix’s offseason progress will likely be evaluated by how quickly their perimeter spacing stabilizes and how consistently they create high-quality shots without forcing long resets in possessions.