NBA Rumors: Sixers Targeting Pistons Guards Luke Kennard And Langston Galloway, Per Keith Pompey
Recent reports have suggested that the struggling Detroit Pistons might be making some serious changes ahead of the February trade deadline and are putting many of their veteran players on the trading block. However, it’s not just superstars such as Andre Drummond or Blake Griffin who may be on the move. Aside from forward Markieff Morris, who was recently rumored to have caught the interest of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, guards Luke Kennard and Langston Galloway also appear to be on the radar of another potential championship contender — the Philadelphia 76ers.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that per “multiple” league sources, the Sixers are targeting the two Pistons backcourt men, as well as free-agent forward Jeff Green, in the lead-up to next month’s trade deadline. No further information on the team’s level of interest in the three players was discussed, and neither were potential trade packages the Sixers could offer to Detroit in order to acquire Kennard and/or Galloway.
As noted by Bleacher Report, Galloway could be the more “realistic” acquisition for Philadelphia, as the 28-year-old is on an expiring contract that will pay him $7.3 million this season that may be hard to match but is nonetheless “manageable.” Kennard, however, was predicted to be the hardest of the three rumored targets to acquire, given how he is just 23-years-old and playing a key role for the Pistons while still on his rookie contract.
Langston Galloway is heating up for the @DetroitPistons! He has 15 PTS in the third quarter alone!#NBA League Pass: https://t.co/L3VurkatG8 pic.twitter.com/JQDDIGCY6f
— NBA (@NBA) November 6, 2018
Although the outlet stressed that the deal may be a long shot for the Sixers, Bleacher Report suggested that the team could acquire Kennard and Galloway for a trade package featuring veteran forward Mike Scott, second-year guard Zhaire Smith, and a future first-round draft pick. Such a transaction would work under the NBA’s salary cap rules, but as the publication speculated, it’s still doubtful Detroit would find the offer satisfactory, even if another player such as Furkan Korkmaz or Matisse Thybulle was included to sweeten the deal.
As shown on the Pistons’ Basketball-Reference team page, Kennard has emerged this season as one of the team’s top scorers, with averages of 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. He is also shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from three-point range, though he remains sidelined due to a knee injury he suffered toward the end of December. Galloway, on the other hand, has mostly served as a scoring threat off the bench, producing 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per contest while backing up both guard positions.
