Luke Kornet is officially a member of the San Antonio Spurs, meaning Brian Wright has completed the task of acquiring a reliable backup for Victor Wembanyama. But that's not all, Wright didn't overpay for a guy set to come off the bench, and in a time where the CBA is heavily penalizing teams for bad contracts, his astuteness maintained the organization's flexibility.
Update: The San Antonio Spurs signed Luke Kornet to a four-year, $41 million deal, which descends, is fully guaranteed the first two years for $21.45 million, has a third-year $2.55 million partial guarantee salary and a fourth-year non-guaranteed salary, sources told @hoopshype.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 7, 2025
Wembanyama is eligible for an extension next year, but the additional money won't kick in until 2027. That's when this deal begins to decrease, and full guarantees turn into partials or non-guarantees. By that time, Vic will be 23, and very possibly the best player in the NBA. You want as much flexibility as possible when you have that guy on your roster, and that's what the front office is planning for.
There's been a lot of complaining about the Kornet signing, but the angst is misplaced. The former Celtic is a fantastic addition to the team, and when the games begin, it won't take long for you to love him.
Kornet is the perfect Spurs player
Good NBA teams need players who do all the right things pretty much all the time. That's who Luke Kornet is. Think about Tiago Splitter. He wasn't flashy, but he set good, hard screens, rolled to the basket well in space, and finished around the basket with reliability. He could stop on the short roll and make the right pass or throw up a little floater.
It can be very ho-hum, but basketball is often more effective when simplified. Tim Duncan made an entire Hall-of-Fame career off of being fundamentally sound because it works. The newly acquired NBA champion is a hard worker. You have to be in order to elevate yourself from an undrafted prospect to an important piece on a championship roster.
He then parlayed his success into a four-year deal worth over $40 million. Spurs fans should absolutely be excited to have a guy like this on the roster. Celtics fans were saddened by the loss.
Luke Kornet was so awesome on the Celtics that he actually became one of my favorite players of all-time.
Happy for him. Take care of him @spurs 🙏 pic.twitter.com/R67yg71si7
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) June 30, 2025
This is just one of many examples of Boston's fans' outpouring of love for the 7'1" center from Texas. It won't take long before Spurs Nation takes to him. Get to know him and watch his play on the court. He's a selfless teammate and a rim protector. Last season, the path to the basket lit up with neon green lights when Wembanyama went to the bench. That won't be the case any longer.
This organization's reputation was built on defense first, and Kornet will help re-instill that identity. Plus, he's funny.