The Boston Celtics took down the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. With no Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, or Charles Bassey, the Spurs were short-handed. Meanwhile, Boston had their entire starting lineup healthy, missing only Al Horford and Payton Pritchard. That left plenty of room for Luke Kornet to step into the spotlight.
Kornet completely dominated the Spurs, destroying them on the glass and improving the Celtics’ offensive production with his offensive rebounding, screening, and touch around the rim. He’s quickly become an invaluable piece of the Celtics puzzle, and he’ll be a crucial part of their game plan throughout the postseason.
But that will put the Celtics in a tough bind this summer.
Luke Kornet is playing well, and it may force the Celtics to pay a lot of money to re-sign him
Boston is staring down some serious luxury tax issues. They have been a second-apron team for two straight years, and Wyc Grousbeck recently said that he doesn’t expect any team around the league to be in the second apron for more than two years. "You can't stay in the second apron," Grousbeck said on The Greg Hill Show. "Nobody will. I predict for the next 40 years of the CBA no one's gonna stay in the second apron more than two years."
If the Celtics want to dip below the second apron, they will almost certainly have to trade one of Jrue Holiday or Kristaps Porzingis. But Kornet could pose a problem, too.
Last summer, Kornet signed a one-year minimum contract to remain with the Celtics. He probably could have gotten more money elsewhere, but instead, he decided to stay in Boston.
Fast forward to now, and Kornet has only improved since last season. In fact, for the past few weeks, he’s been one of the most impactful players on the Celtics, let alone the Celtics bench.
If Boston wants to retain his services for next season, they’ll likely have to shell out some serious dough, as other teams around the league will undoubtedly be interested in signing him.
Al Horford will also be in need of a new contract, which could cause Brad Stevens to make some very tough decisions.
With how well Kornet has been playing, it’s getting to the point where re-signing him is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity. He’s making himself more and more irreplaceable by the day.
Kornet’s play for the past few weeks has been out of this world, and it will force the Celtics into a corner this summer when it comes time to dish out the dough.