Luke Kornet’s first words as a Spur, in typical fashion, just had to include a quip. He was asked why he chose to wear No. 7 in San Antonio, and after giving a serious answer, he also said he wanted to be a third of the player Hall of Famer Tim Duncan was with the Spurs.
Kornet made his first public comments since leaving the Celtics in free agency. Boston was interested in re-signing the reserve big man, but the Spurs landed Kornet by signing him a four-year contract this summer. Kornet explained his decision to leave the Celtics as he was introduced by the Spurs on Monday.
“I’m grateful for all the time that I had in Boston,” Kornet told reporters in San Antonio. “I feel like it was a really appropriate place for the last several years and grateful for all the opportunity that it was. Just kind of felt led, and then throughout the process, just felt like San Antonio was really the place that kind of had everything that we hoped for.”
Kornet enjoyed a breakout season with the Celtics last year, developing his way into a consistent playoff contributor. That took years of hard work behind the scenes as Kornet was also in the G League to start the 2021-22 season. C’s president Brad Stevens made it clear the organization wanted to re-sign him, but considering the cost-cutting in Boston, Kornet ended up landing in San Antonio.
So, Kornet becomes just the latest member of the 2024 title team to move onto their next step. The Celtics also traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks and Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers; both of those trades became official Monday. Al Horford is also expected to move on this summer in free agency, though it’s unclear where he’ll end up. So that era of C’s basketball is in the rearview mirror.
Kornet will get a chance to play a larger role with the Spurs as he’ll back up phenom Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs clearly were looking for big man options on the open market as they landed Kornet. While Kornet doesn’t shoot 3-pointers anymore like earlier in his career, his passing and defense were key parts of the Celtics last season. Fortunately, he also heard plenty from Derrick White, who played for the Spurs from 2017-22, about San Antonio.
“Derrick had nothing but positive things to say,” Kornet said. “Derrick, obviously, it was such a great place for him. He’s kind of come to his own in Boston. I got called up to Boston and he got traded there at the same time, so I feel like it was interesting to see him grow into a new place after a place that he really cherished for a lot of years.”
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