Detroit Pistons: 2018-19 NBA season preview

Storyline 2: Can Luke Kennard take the next step?

Shooting guard Luke Kennard can be the next great shooter in the NBA. Last season, he posted .443/.415/.855 shooting splits. He can legitimately join the 50-40-90 club moving forward. He profiles like Kyle Korver, J.J. Redick and Klay Thompson. Casey will likely have him running all game long on the offensive end of the floor, and he will need to work on his catch-and-shoot ability off screens. In Van Gundy’s offense, there weren’t a ton of open looks, but that should change this season.

With the Toronto Raptors, Casey was able to manufacture open looks all game long for his shooters. Last season, he had eight rotation-level players shoot at least 36 percent from 3-point range. The Pistons had five, and three of those five are now gone to other teams via trade or free agency. Kennard is one of the remaining two, but he needs to step up in a couple other areas while maintaining his outside shooting.

From 3-10 feet away from the rim, he shot a miserable 30.2 percent. While Kennard is not the greatest athlete or the tallest shooting guard, he needs to be more of a threat from this range. Hitting just a handful more of these shots makes him a much greater piece of this offense now and in the future. Casey has developed shooters in the past. Can he do the same with Kennard, or will he just remain a spot-up shooter outside and nothing more?