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djFan71 wrote:ConstableGeneva wrote:Kornet was already good as our 3rd center last season. Even thought we’d get priced out during free agency. He supposedly turned down better offers to remain with the champs. Lucky us. And he got even better in his role this season. Smart, low usage, system players often do.
Do you know the max we can offer him in the summer? I'm sure Mr Green's Cash Money Runs Deep for Kornet.
brackdan70 wrote:I am guessing it was his choice to do a one year? Idk. I hope we can keep him on 3/10 type of thing but IDK.
Will be an interesting offseason with the repeater penalty luxury tax. Every dollar = like 8 dollars.
165bows wrote:brackdan70 wrote:I am guessing it was his choice to do a one year? Idk. I hope we can keep him on 3/10 type of thing but IDK.
Will be an interesting offseason with the repeater penalty luxury tax. Every dollar = like 8 dollars.
heard on a podcast recently that he was reported to have turned down $8M for the year from another team last year. Not sure if true but as they say big number if so.
ConstableGeneva wrote:djFan71 wrote:ConstableGeneva wrote:Kornet was already good as our 3rd center last season. Even thought we’d get priced out during free agency. He supposedly turned down better offers to remain with the champs. Lucky us. And he got even better in his role this season. Smart, low usage, system players often do.
Do you know the max we can offer him in the summer? I'm sure Mr Green's Cash Money Runs Deep for Kornet.
8 years of service, Cs have Full Bird Rights... so $207.845M for 4 years?
djFan71 wrote:ConstableGeneva wrote:djFan71 wrote:Do you know the max we can offer him in the summer? I'm sure Mr Green's Cash Money Runs Deep for Kornet.
8 years of service, Cs have Full Bird Rights... so $207.845M for 4 years?
Hope that's enough.
I wonder if he did kinda bet no himself a little with the min, knowing he could sign for more. Worst case he knows he liked the team/compete for a chip. Best case is that + a semi-breakout year and nice next contract.
165bows wrote:brackdan70 wrote:I am guessing it was his choice to do a one year? Idk. I hope we can keep him on 3/10 type of thing but IDK.
Will be an interesting offseason with the repeater penalty luxury tax. Every dollar = like 8 dollars.
heard on a podcast recently that he was reported to have turned down $8M for the year from another team last year. Not sure if true but as they say big number if so.
redslastlaugh wrote:165bows wrote:brackdan70 wrote:I am guessing it was his choice to do a one year? Idk. I hope we can keep him on 3/10 type of thing but IDK.
Will be an interesting offseason with the repeater penalty luxury tax. Every dollar = like 8 dollars.
heard on a podcast recently that he was reported to have turned down $8M for the year from another team last year. Not sure if true but as they say big number if so.
Kornet keeps getting better and is a really useful player with great JT chemistry. He seems like he’d be worth a real contract, something like Daniel Theis (4/$36) got from the Rockets.
However, it’s not clear Luke is an every series playoff player. He was strong in the Miami series against Bam, but he faded as the Cleveland series went on, and then was not playable against Indy or Dallas. For the entire playoffs the Celtics were outscored by 8pts per 100 possessions that Luke was on the floor. We went 16-3 and he was the only player on the roster we were outscored in his minutes.
That said, Luke is better this year and the coaches are better at using him. I can’t wait to see him in these upcoming playoffs. He may hold up better this year.
Celts17Pride wrote:Luke Kornet has had a fantastic year for the Celtics.
phincsfan wrote:If they can get away from the aprons, Luke could fetch a nice asset package as a sign and trade candidate.
shackles10 wrote:phincsfan wrote:If they can get away from the aprons, Luke could fetch a nice asset package as a sign and trade candidate.
I think we need to keep him. Likely to need assets in the big man slot with Al’s age and KP’s injuries combined with his salary if we’re looking to save $
shackles10 wrote:phincsfan wrote:If they can get away from the aprons, Luke could fetch a nice asset package as a sign and trade candidate.
I think we need to keep him. Likely to need assets in the big man slot with Al’s age and KP’s injuries combined with his salary if we’re looking to save $
Fencer reregistered wrote:Luke seems quicker to get into actions (at either end of the court, but especially defensively) than he used to be. Is that more physical or more mental?
On the one hand, his slowness in the past seemed physical. On the other hand, it's easier to imagine mental improvement. Perhaps he's just so elite now at decision-making as to compensate for physical slowness?
Since Joe Mazzulla became head coach of the Boston Celtics, the team has shot a league leading number of three-point attempts. The offensive scheme, which some call “Mazzulla ball”, emphasizes the math and spacing advantages that a high volume of three point shooting provides. Celtics players have been encouraged to be aggressive getting up as many attempts as possible and as a result we have seen most of the roster take a career high in attempts behind the arc in the past 2 seasons.
However, there is one player on the roster that defies this trend entirely. Luke Kornet spent the first 4 seasons of his career playing the role of a stretch 5, taking over 60% of his shots from behind the arc and seemingly only sticking around in the league because of his skillset as a 7’2 center who could hit threes. However, since signing with Boston 2022, Kornet has played over 2,500 minutes and taken just 19 attempts from three. So why the sudden change in his play-style despite being on a team that emphasizes the three point shot so heavily?
When we listen to Joe Mazzulla talk about his philosophy and watch the Celtics play we can get an understanding of why they shoot the three ball as frequently as they do. He wants his players to have the most spacing possible to consistently create efficient shots for themselves and others. However, just because a player stands behind the line and occasionally shoots a three doesn’t actually mean that they are effectively spacing the floor. And while 3 is more than 2, spot-up three-pointers aren’t always efficient shots.
Looking back at Kornet’s first four years in the league, he was taking over 90% of his three point attempts while classified as “open” or “wide open”. So it seems that during his time as a stretch 5, he wasn’t actually stretching the defense. He also shot about 33% on these attempts so his scoring efficiency was well below average for a center.
At the start of the 2021-2022 season, Kornet was still unsigned. During the season he got 10-day contracts in Cleveland and Milwaukee that were not renewed. However, at the trade deadline an opportunity opened up for him. After multiple trades, the Boston Celtics had open roster spots, and their new GM, Brad Stevens, happened to be a former coach of Luke. Stevens clearly saw some untapped potential in him and he signed him for the rest of the season and gave him a 2 year fully guaranteed deal later that summer.
Since then, Kornet has played a different role than the one he was cast into at the beginning of his career. The Celtics started using him as a roll man who can run dribble handoffs, catch lobs, and grab offensive rebounds at a high rate. His lack of shot creation and unspectacular athleticism might have caused teams to shy away from playing him in this role earlier in his career but Boston seemed to realize two things about Luke: he makes good decisions with the ball in his hands and his massive 7’2 frame can be a weapon near the basket.
He sets solid screens with his wide frame and provides an easy target to hit as a roll man. He can make a good pass to an open teammate or finish at the rim if the defense doesn’t rotate in time. He has also proven to be an excellent lob threat adding a dimension of vertical spacing that would otherwise be missing on nights that Porzingis is out of the lineup.
His statistical profile reflects the shift in his role and his effectiveness. Through his first 4 seasons Kornet posted a TS% of about 53%, significantly below average for a center. Since the start of the 2022-2023 season he has a TS% of about 71%, making him one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA. He was just okay at making open shots from behind the arc, but he’s fantastic at finishing good opportunities around the basket. He’s also averaging 4.6 assists per 100 possessions this season, reflecting his increased usage as a playmaker.
Playing closer to the rim has also allowed him to utilize his offensive rebounding skills. His offensive rebound percentage was just around 4% during his first four seasons but he’s brought that way up to 12.5% since arriving back in Boston. He finished 7th in the NBA last season in offensive rebounds per possession.
The advanced statistics reflect an increase in effectiveness from his role change over the past few years. He has nearly tripled his win shares per 48 minutes (WS/48) from around .085 his first 4 seasons to around .230 since 2022-2023. Last season he was 4th in the NBA in net rating.
Kornet’s evolution is a good example of why Mazzulla ball isn’t purely about the 3 point shot. Boston has done a good job utilizing Luke for his strengths and putting him in a position to be effective. And it turns out that position in inside the arc rather than as a stretch 5.