Luke Kornet is heading to San Antonio after four seasons with the Celtics, ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported. Kornet signed a four-year, $41 million deal with the Spurs, signing by far the biggest contract of his NBA career.
The move comes despite the fact that Brad Stevens said on Wednesday that bringing back Kornet and Al Horford would be the Celtics priorities. But, the Celtics had no ability to match that type of contract.
“They’re going to have, I’m sure, plenty of options all over the place, and that’s well-deserved, but I think that would be a priority,” Stevens said. “At the same time, I don’t want to put pressure on them. It’s their call, ultimately. But, yeah, we would love to have those guys back.”
Kornet is coming off his best season as a pro, averaging 6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1 block over a career-high 18.6 minutes per game. He put together the best game of his playoff career in Game 5 against the Knicks, tallying 10 points on 5-5 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 7 blocks.
Kornet took a pay cut last summer to remain on the Celtics, opting to sign a one-year, minimum deal. But, at age 30, the former Vanderbilt standout has opted to finally cash in.
Kornet’s journey to a lucrative NBA deal was a circuitous one
After stints with the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls, Luke Kornet joined the Maine Celtics for 10 games in 2021, then signed 10-day contracts with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks.
He rejoined the Celtics in January of 2022, and signed a rest-of-season contract with Boston for the rest of the year. He re-signed with the Celtics on a two-year, $4.5 million contract that summer, and signed a one-year, minimum deal with the Celtics the summer after they won the championship in 2024 — which has since been widely reported as a paycut.
In one contract, Kornet will nearly triple his career earnings, which to date have amounted to just under $14.2 million.
In addition to Jayson Tatum, the Celtics will now be without Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and (potentially) Al Horford next season, losing five key players from their 9-man rotation.
