Luke Kornet, Spurs Reportedly Agree to $41M Contract in NBA FA as Wemby's Backup

After spending the last four seasons with the Boston Celtics, Luke Kornet is going to join the San Antonio Spurs in free agency.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Kornet and the Spurs agreed to terms on a four-year, $41 million contract to serve as Victor Wembanyama's backup.

Kornet has spent most of the past six seasons with the Celtics. He originally joined the team in March 2021 after being traded from the Washington Wizards.

After a brief stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks early in the 2021-22 season, Kornet returned to the Celtics in January 2022 when he joined their G League squad.

Since February 2022, Kornet has been used off the bench as Boston's backup center. He is coming off one of the best seasons of his career in 2024-25, averaging 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 73 appearances.

The highlight of Kornet's season came in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. He finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in a 127-102 win to extend the series to a sixth game.

Kornet quietly was one of the better defensive players in the postseason.

There are certainly limitations to how impactful Kornet is going to be if his playing time were to be stretched out, but he's got enough ability to be an impact bench player for a playoff contender like San Antonio.

The Spurs are banking on Kornet making the same type of difference for them that he was able to in small doses during his time with the Celtics.