Luke Kennard breaks silence, talks mindset on decision to re-sign with Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies may not have made many moves this offseason, but the ones they did make were quite strategic and win-now-oriented.

Easily the biggest decision made by the franchise during these summer months was them opting to decline the final year of Luke Kennard's contract and, ultimately, re-up with him on a new, more team-friendly deal.

As fans are likely aware, a reunion between the two parties didn't happen overnight. In fact, it took roughly a month to come to terms on a financial agreement, one that wound up seeing the veteran take a $2.8 million pay cut to remain with the Grizzlies.

While to some, the decision for him to settle on $11 million was a bit questionable when considering his original 2024-25 salary was slated to be worth $14.8 million before his option was ultimately turned down, it appears Kennard is perfectly content with how things played out as he recently revealed that his main goal this offseason was to remain in Grind City.

Luke Kennard opens up about re-signing with Memphis Grizzlies

"There's a lot of different conversations that go on through that process. I worked with Zach [Kleiman] very closely through everything. He was just very upfront, very honest with me and I respected that a lot. I'm glad that we finally came to a decision and what we came to. I told him I wanted to be in Memphis. This is where I want to be. I'm excited with what they have built here over the last few years. I just wanted to be a small part of that," Kennard said.

Kennard would continue on to highlight that his mindset throughout the whole process was that he wanted to "be in Memphis," and that he and the team "expressed mutual interest in that."

Since joining the Grizzlies at the 2022 trade deadline, Kennard has become a key figure within Taylor Jenkins' offensive system, especially when serving as a go-to kick-out target for the attack-oriented Ja Morant.

Through 63 career games played with Memphis, the sharpshooting two-guard has gone on to post impressive per game averages of 11.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while cashing in on 47.5 percent of his shot attempts from the floor and 48.3 percent of his attempts from deep.

Even last season, despite being hobbled by nagging injuries and playing with consistently changing supporting casts, the veteran still went on to have a noteworthy run with the club, as he posted 11.0 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 45.0 percent from distance, the second-best mark in the entire association behind only Suns sniper Grayson Allen.

Kennard's decision to take a pay-cut helped inch toward ducking under the dreaded tax threshold and further distance themselves from the harrowing first apron along the way.