The Boston Celtics overhauled their roster this summer to reduce their payroll and get below the dreaded second tax apron. Their big moves included trading Kristaps Porziņġis to the Hawks and Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers, but they lost a few players in free agency. Their biggest free agency subtraction was Al Horford, who signed with the Warriors, but another big man, Luke Kornet, also left the Celtics.
Soon after free agency began (so way before Horford signed with Golden State), Kornet signed a four-year, $41 million deal with the Spurs. Kornet had the best season of his career in 2024-25, averaging 6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game. He played a career-high 73 games, starting 16 of them.
San Antonio benefitted from Boston's decision to shred its payroll, as Brad Stevens said the team offered Kornet and Horford deals to stay. The Spurs not only offered Kornet a better deal, but he's also playing for one of the most exciting teams in the league. It's not every day that you get to be Victor Wembanyama's backup.
It's still very early, but after watching Kornet in some early preseason action, Spurs fans everywhere are celebrating that the team finally has a good Wembanyama backup.
Luke Kornet was an underrated signing for the Spurs
After watching Kornet share the floor with other bigs in Boston, San Antonio decided to run a two-big lineup with him and Wembanyama, and watching a pick-and-roll game with two seven-footers was fun. It isn't a lineup that the Spurs will turn to a lot during the regular season, but it can be effective in short stretches.
Anyone who has watched Kornet knows that he's a great rim protector, not to the level of Wembanyama, but he's in his own category. Kornet is a good rebounder, a smart passer (Stephon Castle said it's one of Kornet's underrated skills), and sets good screens. Having Kornet come off the bench while Wemby rests is massive for San Antonio.
As nice as it would've been to keep Kornet in Boston, he really couldn't have been granted a better opportunity. Wembanyama is already must-watch television, but now his backup is, too! At least for Spurs fans. They won't have to cross their fingers and hope for the best when Wemby catches a breather.