Luke Kornet (Appreciation) Thread - Signs with Spurs 6/30/25

[playa-hater]

Kornet came into the NBA as a 3 point shooting big man. He shot over 35% in his first two seasons. Then he had a bad shooting year in Chicago, weaned things down to the point of giving it up altogether. This certainly helped him focus on his overall game. But if we're going to try to develop Tillman's 3 pointer and tell Anton Watson to "let it fly" why on earth isn't Kornet shooting any? He's the best shooter of the bunch.

small sample sizes and in Watson's case, None, doesn't make anyone the best of the bunch. Besides Kornet's best season came when he stayed inside. The most overrated thing for me is that a "center" needs to shoot 3s.. Unless they are very good at it like Al and KP, stay inside and be a vertical threat and Offensive rebounder. Hartenstein just got paid 29 million per because he killed inside. Lively and Gafford made huge impacts staying inside against everyone (but the Champs of course ) Ditto for the 4 time DPOY Gobert. Memphis just drafted what they hope is another Steve Adams in Zach Edey. Robert Williams, when Healthy, was dominant staying near the Rim and never shooting 3s..

My point is there are quite a few ways a Center can make a nice impact. Do what you do best comes first.

[celtxman]

Kornet probably saved his career by changing his game. His efficiency in FG percentage has been great,. I'm not advocating to change all the way back. But there is no need for him to be out there , uncovered and desperately looking to get rid of the ball like he is now. He can shoot. He shoots 90% from the line. He got into the NBA because of his ability to shoot 3s. If you're telling Watson to let it fly, you should say to Kornet " if you're out there and they're leaving you, make them pay. IF you miss, you're still playing."
We're asking Tillman to learn to shoot, but we're not dusting of skills Kornet already has.

[Hal14]

Kornet probably saved his career by changing his game. His efficiency in FG percentage has been great,. I'm not advocating to change all the way back. But there is no need for him to be out there , uncovered and desperately looking to get rid of the ball like he is now. He can shoot. He shoots 90% from the line. He got into the NBA because of his ability to shoot 3s. If you're telling Watson to let it fly, you should say to Kornet " if you're out there and they're leaving you, make them pay. IF you miss, you're still playing."
We're asking Tillman to learn to shoot, but we're not dusting of skills Kornet already has.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We beat the crap out of everyone last year with Kornet not shooting 3's and instead focusing on screening, passing, catching lobs, tip-ins, put-backs and finishing out of dunker's spot..in other words, do what Time Lord did. Rob never shot 3's and he had the highest offensive rating in NBA history at one point.

We're telling Tillman and Watson to let it fly but Kornet to not shoot because Tillman and Watson are only 6'8" so they aren't nearly the type of lob threat that Kornet is at 7'2"..they also don't have the size that Kornet has for. put-backs, tip-ins, scoring out of dunker's spot, getting offensive rebounds..Watson and Tillman are way shorter..so for them to provide value on offfense, they need to shoot the - same reason why Al (6'9") started shooting 3's a few yrs ago and same reason why Grant Williams (6'7') worked so hard on his 3 ball..

[cloverleaf]

Kornet probably saved his career by changing his game. His efficiency in FG percentage has been great,. I'm not advocating to change all the way back. But there is no need for him to be out there , uncovered and desperately looking to get rid of the ball like he is now. He can shoot. He shoots 90% from the line. He got into the NBA because of his ability to shoot 3s. If you're telling Watson to let it fly, you should say to Kornet " if you're out there and they're leaving you, make them pay. IF you miss, you're still playing."
We're asking Tillman to learn to shoot, but we're not dusting of skills Kornet already has.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We beat the crap out of everyone last year with Kornet not shooting 3's and instead focusing on screening, passing, catching lobs, tip-ins, put-backs and finishing out of dunker's spot..in other words, do what Time Lord did. Rob never shot 3's and he had the highest offensive rating in NBA history at one point.

We're telling Tillman and Watson to let it fly but Kornet to not shoot because Tillman and Watson are only 6'8" so they aren't nearly the type of lob threat that Kornet is at 7'2"..they also don't have the size that Kornet has for. put-backs, tip-ins, scoring out of dunker's spot, getting offensive rebounds..Watson and Tillman are way shorter..so for them to provide value on offfense, they need to shoot the - same reason why Al (6'9") started shooting 3's a few yrs ago and same reason why Grant Williams (6'7') worked so hard on his 3 ball..

But they've had 7' Queta, who's a lob machine, refining his 3. If Luke were hitting 3s at a good rate, they'd have him shooting them.

[Hal14]

Kornet probably saved his career by changing his game. His efficiency in FG percentage has been great,. I'm not advocating to change all the way back. But there is no need for him to be out there , uncovered and desperately looking to get rid of the ball like he is now. He can shoot. He shoots 90% from the line. He got into the NBA because of his ability to shoot 3s. If you're telling Watson to let it fly, you should say to Kornet " if you're out there and they're leaving you, make them pay. IF you miss, you're still playing."
We're asking Tillman to learn to shoot, but we're not dusting of skills Kornet already has.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We beat the crap out of everyone last year with Kornet not shooting 3's and instead focusing on screening, passing, catching lobs, tip-ins, put-backs and finishing out of dunker's spot..in other words, do what Time Lord did. Rob never shot 3's and he had the highest offensive rating in NBA history at one point.

We're telling Tillman and Watson to let it fly but Kornet to not shoot because Tillman and Watson are only 6'8" so they aren't nearly the type of lob threat that Kornet is at 7'2"..they also don't have the size that Kornet has for. put-backs, tip-ins, scoring out of dunker's spot, getting offensive rebounds..Watson and Tillman are way shorter..so for them to provide value on offfense, they need to shoot the - same reason why Al (6'9") started shooting 3's a few yrs ago and same reason why Grant Williams (6'7') worked so hard on his 3 ball..

But they've had 7' Queta, who's a lob machine, refining his 3. If Luke were hitting 3s at a good rate, they'd have him shooting them.

Well, we still haven't seen Queta shooting 3s in a game. I'm pretty sure most bigs in the league who never shoot 3's in games (Looney, Mitchell Robinson, Gobert, etc.) shoot them sometimes in practice..

You might be right, though..perhaps part of it is that the 3's stopped going in at an efficient enough clip so the decision was made (by Luke and/or the coaches) to stop having him shoot them and focus on shots at the rim, which he is much more efficient at hitting.

[165bows]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We beat the crap out of everyone last year with Kornet not shooting 3's and instead focusing on screening, passing, catching lobs, tip-ins, put-backs and finishing out of dunker's spot..in other words, do what Time Lord did. Rob never shot 3's and he had the highest offensive rating in NBA history at one point.

We're telling Tillman and Watson to let it fly but Kornet to not shoot because Tillman and Watson are only 6'8" so they aren't nearly the type of lob threat that Kornet is at 7'2"..they also don't have the size that Kornet has for. put-backs, tip-ins, scoring out of dunker's spot, getting offensive rebounds..Watson and Tillman are way shorter..so for them to provide value on offfense, they need to shoot the - same reason why Al (6'9") started shooting 3's a few yrs ago and same reason why Grant Williams (6'7') worked so hard on his 3 ball..

But they've had 7' Queta, who's a lob machine, refining his 3. If Luke were hitting 3s at a good rate, they'd have him shooting them.

Well, we still haven't seen Queta shooting 3s in a game. I'm pretty sure most bigs in the league who never shoot 3's in games (Looney, Mitchell Robinson, Gobert, etc.) shoot them sometimes in practice..

You might be right, though..perhaps part of it is that the 3's stopped going in at an efficient enough clip so the decision was made (by Luke and/or the coaches) to stop having him shoot them and focus on shots at the rim, which he is much more efficient at hitting.

It would be awesome if he could (take/hit threes), and he'd prob be an 8-figure a year guy if he could. But this team has been excellent at working with guys shooting so I'm pretty comfortable with the ideas that 1.) they are well above average teaching shooting compared to the rest of the league, if not among the very best, and 2.) due to #1, I don't have much value add there lol.

I would be curious hearing their perspective on that decision for Kornet though.

[cloverleaf]

By now Luke is tanned, rested and ready, should Embiid have to bow out and Grant Hill give him the call.

[Fencer reregistered]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1dwyj1p/katz_luke_kornet_timed_his_free_agent_signing_for/#:~:text=Tasty%2DPerformance275-,%5BKatz%5D%20Luke%20Kornet%20timed%20his%20free%20agent%20signing%20for%20as,the%20board%20at%206%20p.m.

Sounds like a credible rumor more than something strongly confirmed, but I'm inclined to believe it.

[darrendaye]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We beat the crap out of everyone last year with Kornet not shooting 3's and instead focusing on screening, passing, catching lobs, tip-ins, put-backs and finishing out of dunker's spot..in other words, do what Time Lord did. Rob never shot 3's and he had the highest offensive rating in NBA history at one point.

We're telling Tillman and Watson to let it fly but Kornet to not shoot because Tillman and Watson are only 6'8" so they aren't nearly the type of lob threat that Kornet is at 7'2"..they also don't have the size that Kornet has for. put-backs, tip-ins, scoring out of dunker's spot, getting offensive rebounds..Watson and Tillman are way shorter..so for them to provide value on offfense, they need to shoot the - same reason why Al (6'9") started shooting 3's a few yrs ago and same reason why Grant Williams (6'7') worked so hard on his 3 ball..

But they've had 7' Queta, who's a lob machine, refining his 3. If Luke were hitting 3s at a good rate, they'd have him shooting them.

Well, we still haven't seen Queta shooting 3s in a game. I'm pretty sure most bigs in the league who never shoot 3's in games (Looney, Mitchell Robinson, Gobert, etc.) shoot them sometimes in practice..

You might be right, though..perhaps part of it is that the 3's stopped going in at an efficient enough clip so the decision was made (by Luke and/or the coaches) to stop having him shoot them and focus on shots at the rim, which he is much more efficient at hitting.

Also emphasizes his length more for offensive rebounds/tips.

[celtxman]

Im not sure how to link this but there is an interesting article where Luke talks about why he no longer shoots 3's [b]Celtics Center Finds Key to Happiness in Faith and Friendship With the Saints /b].
He attributes a broken nose and having trouble breathing as the reason his proficiency on 3's. It's a really good read. When he left college he was the all time leader in 3 pointers made for someone over 7 ft.
Again, I'm not advocating that he changes his game totally back. He mentions in the article the temptation to take 3s. I'm saying when the offense is running and he gets the ball on the outside if you're giving others the green light, let him try again.

[Fencer reregistered]

Im not sure how to link this but there is an interesting article where Luke talks about why he no longer shoots 3's [b]Celtics Center Finds Key to Happiness in Faith and Friendship With the Saints /b].
He attributes a broken nose and having trouble breathing as the reason his proficiency on 3's. It's a really good read. When he left college he was the all time leader in 3 pointers made for someone over 7 ft.
Again, I'm not advocating that he changes his game totally back. He mentions in the article the temptation to take 3s. I'm saying when the offense is running and he gets the ball on the outside if you're giving others the green light, let him try again.

This seems to be the intended link.

https://www.ncregister.com/interview/celtics-center-luke-kornet-catholic-faith

[JaMarco]

Luke needs to learn how to start shooting 3s again.

[ConstableGeneva]

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[shackles10]

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Look at JB photobombing Luke's moment. For shame Jaylen, for shame! I bet he knew they'd use that pic on his birthday too...

[ConstableGeneva]

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[165bows]

Watch on YouTube

This was pretty good, had some LWIV talk as well.

Piece that stuck out was that apparently they slot Luke in quite a bit against bad teams, where last year he absolutely killed it. So that will be interesting to watch, if Tillman is more the back up against better clubs (similar to his Finals appearance) where Luke is the innings eater guy.

[ConstableGeneva]

Watch on YouTube

This was pretty good, had some LWIV talk as well.

Piece that stuck out was that apparently they slot Luke in quite a bit against bad teams, where last year he absolutely killed it. So that will be interesting to watch, if Tillman is more the back up against better clubs (similar to his Finals appearance) where Luke is the innings eater guy.

His top 10 games in minutes played last season were against non-playoff teams except one (ORL), the lone loss. Cs were 20-3 in games where Luke played 18+ minutes. So the two other losses were against Milwaukee (late in the season, #1 seed locked up) and Charlotte (early season screwup; shouldn't have lost this).

[ConstableGeneva]

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[KamikazeK]

I know I've mentioned this before but it's still funny to me how different the vibe is around Kornet compared to 2 years ago when this thread first got made.

[ConstableGeneva]

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If Luke plays as many games as he did last season, he'd already surpass Timelord in career games as a Celtic. Kinda wild.