The Unikornet

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I actually think he gets off the ground pretty easily for a player his height. His lack of athleticism is more apparent when he is asked to cover space quickly on the perimeter.
While his wingspan is smaller, he has a longer standing reach than Timelord. He starts from a good spot just by getting his hands up high.
 

TripleOT

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Kornet did shoot 36 percent from three on 4.1 per game over two seasons in the far back of the Knicks rotation in 17 mpg over 66 games when he first entered the league. If he does add the three that would gave the Cs three floor stretching centers. I remember reading somewhere they he purposely remade his game (pick setter, rim runner, rim defender) to find a spot in the league, eschewing the three ball.
 

DavidTai

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Kornet did shoot 36 percent from three on 4.1 per game over two seasons in the far back of the Knicks rotation in 17 mpg over 66 games when he first entered the league. If he does add the three that would gave the Cs three floor stretching centers. I remember reading somewhere they he purposely remade his game (pick setter, rim runner, rim defender) to find a spot in the league, eschewing the three ball.
Probably this?

https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2023/01/07/nba-notebook-how-luke-kornet-saved-his-nba-career-with-the-celtics
 

bigq

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Luke's 10 straight points in the last two minutes of the 3rd quarter last night vs Miami was a joy to watch. He is now 2nd in the league in TS% for those with at least 15 mpg.
 

tbrown_01923

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I thoroughly enjoy him. His game for what it is and what is expected, the demonstrated joy, and his goofy personality. They need to feed him to 30/12 doub/doub just for the antics!
 

benhogan

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One of the side benefits of being careful with KP and shrink-wapping Al/KP in B2Bs is developing your own fungible 3rd string Center.

Brad should just give Luke an extension, he probably isn't looking for much more than a minimum guaranteed for multiple seasons (~3yrs/$10MM)
 

lovegtm

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One of the side benefits of being careful with KP and shrink-wapping Al/KP in B2Bs is developing your own fungible 3rd string Center.

Brad should just give Luke an extension, he probably isn't looking for much more than a minimum guaranteed for multiple seasons (~3yrs/$10MM)
Given the Luke can get minimum money from the Cs any time, why wouldn't he test the market this summer and see whether anyone is feeling silly?
 

benhogan

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Given the Luke can get minimum money from the Cs any time, why wouldn't he test the market this summer and see whether anyone is feeling silly?
$10MM gtd to be a goofball in Boston, securing his future broadcasting career as he plays National TV games weekly (I'm not even sure if Brad is allowed to extend him anyway, there may be rules that prohibit that since he just was gtd)

OR walk the tightrope of being an NBA backup 5 while a new crop of 6'10" & larger dudes come from Europe/NCAA

The G-League is a lesser version of that old TV show Scared Straight! anyone that has gone that route probably wants gtd NBA jobs for as long as possible with gtd 8-figure money (the same goes for Hauser, to a larger extent)
 

Kliq

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Kornet is the most relatable NBA player for me. I feel like I would want to conduct myself exactly as he does in terms of comments and dry humor if I stumbled into a relatively memorable NBA career as a back-up big.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Kornet is the most relatable NBA player for me. I feel like I would want to conduct myself exactly as he does in terms of comments and dry humor if I stumbled into a relatively memorable NBA career as a back-up big.
Can you imagine Kornet with Drew Carter doing the Cs broadcasts? My guess that it would be really good but even it were bad, it would be so spectacularly bad, it would be TV gold.
 

the moops

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I'm waiting for Kornet to emerge as a stretch big in a meaningful playoff game. I think him not shooting threes for the past several years has been a long con
 

benhogan

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I'm waiting for Kornet to emerge as a stretch big in a meaningful playoff game. I think him not shooting threes for the past several years has been a long con
Luke has to be watching Tillman clank Corner3s and saying to himself "damn, I can do better than that"

Then again, Luke is 3/23 over the last 3 years with Zero 3PA this season.

With a dozen pretty meaningless games ahead and plenty of PT, just launch a couple every game
(he can even come up with some goofy celebration after he hits one)
 

bigq

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Luke drilled a wide open three in the Milwaukee game. The Bucks left him completely uncovered and dared him to do it. It was his only 3PA of the season and he has played a career high number of minutes this year. Maybe he was saving it for the right time. Looked healthy enough and he does shoot a few threes in his pregame warmups.
 

slamminsammya

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Luke drilled a wide open three in the Milwaukee game. The Bucks left him completely uncovered and dared him to do it. It was his only 3PA of the season and he has played a career high number of minutes this year. Maybe he was saving it for the right time. Looked healthy enough and he does shoot a few threes in his pregame warmups.
That was a grenade he was handed with like 2 seconds on the shot clock.
 

bigq

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That was a grenade he was handed with like 2 seconds on the shot clock.
I don’t remember the specifics. Did it come from an out of bounds play? It almost looked like a designed play for him but I could be just wishing that was the case.
 

bakahump

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I have to ask because I am having trouble wrapping my head around it (But the human body is weird....).

How does a guy who can play 20 minutes a night in the NBA be potentially "unhealthy" enough to take 2-3 3pts a game???
 

lovegtm

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Is that the best any Celtics center has played Bam over the past 5 years?

Luke is just a good backup NBA center, period. They'll be totally fine with him playing a lot next round, and he's going to get paid more than people think in UFA this summer (unfortunately for either the Cs or Wyc's wallet).
 

CoffeeNerdness

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Kudos to Joe and Co. for getting him ready for this moment. Him being so solid and dependable really takes the sting out of the KP injury.
 

m0ckduck

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Is that the best any Celtics center has played Bam over the past 5 years?
I certainly didn't expect it. But it makes sense in hindsight. Bam doesn't have lots of range or quickness to his game, so Kornet's relative lack of lateral movement is mostly a non-factor. When it comes to holding up in the post, he like a blend of Porzingis and Horford: stronger than KP but a little taller than Al. The combo seemed to really stifle Bam.
 

the moops

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slamminsammya

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I am skeptical that Kornet is going to get any substantial offer from someone. Last year there were two UFA centers who signed for big money, Poeltl and Lopez. Then you got Londale and Mo Wagner for 8 million a year. After that, it gets down to what I think is maybe Kornet territory? Not sure he even gets what these guys got. Biyambo and Plumlee at 5 million, Powell and Love at 4 million.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/_/year/2023/position/c/type/ufa/sort/contract_average/dir/desc
he’s a better player than mo wagner
 

lovegtm

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I am skeptical that Kornet is going to get any substantial offer from someone. Last year there were two UFA centers who signed for big money, Poeltl and Lopez. Then you got Londale and Mo Wagner for 8 million a year. After that, it gets down to what I think is maybe Kornet territory? Not sure he even gets what these guys got. Biyambo and Plumlee at 5 million, Powell and Love at 4 million.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/_/year/2023/position/c/type/ufa/sort/contract_average/dir/desc
I don't think he's getting $10M from anyone. But he's a good deal better than all the guys who got ~5, and he's probably better than the $8M guys too.

This sucks for the Cs, because it would be better to get him on another minimum.

As I said when KP went down: if Boston rolls through the East with Kornet as backup center, a lot of people are going to re-price what Luke Kornet is. He isn't old, and he's just finishing up a long transition to a center, after starting his career as basically a stretch 4.
 

Kliq

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If they play Cleveland, I think that will be a pretty big test for him as they do have guards that can really punish him in one-on-one matchups on the perimeter. His size at the rim on both ends of the floor have been nice to have this season, but he's been pretty protected by playing on an awesome team where his offensive role is minimal beyond just setting screens and catching lobs.
 

the moops

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I don't think he's getting $10M from anyone. But he's a good deal better than all the guys who got ~5, and he's probably better than the $8M guys too.

This sucks for the Cs, because it would be better to get him on another minimum.

As I said when KP went down: if Boston rolls through the East with Kornet as backup center, a lot of people are going to re-price what Luke Kornet is. He isn't old, and he's just finishing up a long transition to a center, after starting his career as basically a stretch 4.
I don't know if he is a good deal better than any of those guys. Some of the shine is the fact that he plays on an incredible defensive team with 2 great defensive guards and 2 great defensive wings. I love Kornet and think he is a good player, but he has warts, just like all those other guys.

It will be interesting to see, but I don't think he sniffs anything more than 5 per year
 

lovegtm

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I don't know if he is a good deal better than any of those guys. Some of the shine is the fact that he plays on an incredible defensive team with 2 great defensive guards and 2 great defensive wings. I love Kornet and think he is a good player, but he has warts, just like all those other guys.

It will be interesting to see, but I don't think he sniffs anything more than 5 per year
We probably don't disagree on anything substantial. It's more that $5M is a very low amount of money at current cap numbers, even for backup centers.
 

benhogan

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Is that the best any Celtics center has played Bam over the past 5 years?
Yes. His box didn't look like much 2pts/7 rebs but he was excellent.

I'm adjusting my thoughts, he really shouldn't split the back-up 5 minutes Tillman

Luke may just have the height 7'1", girth, & discipline to bother Joker's chicken-wing offense in the paint.

More Kornet minutes with the starters will continue to help him grow. He may be a Baynes-ian level defender in the post
 

The Mort Report

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Just wait until CJM unveils Luke Kornet, high volume 3pt shooter in the next round. :)
Has there been any explanation why he stopped shooting 3s? His first 2 seasons he played about 16.5 minutes a game, averaged 4.1 3s a game at around .365%. He took one at the end of the season and it was pure. Just seems odd he completely removed it from his bag when it was a decent weapon that could easily improve
 

lovegtm

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Has there been any explanation why he stopped shooting 3s? His first 2 seasons he played about 16.5 minutes a game, averaged 4.1 3s a game at around .365%. He took one at the end of the season and it was pure. Just seems odd he completely removed it from his bag when it was a decent weapon that could easily improve
@RorschachsMask once mentioned an injury that hurt his shooting, but not sure.
 

Euclis20

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Is that the best any Celtics center has played Bam over the past 5 years?

Luke is just a good backup NBA center, period. They'll be totally fine with him playing a lot next round, and he's going to get paid more than people think in UFA this summer (unfortunately for either the Cs or Wyc's wallet).
Bam had nightmares about 2022 Robert Williams. Timelord played in 6 games in that series, and while Bam's FG% was fine (56%), he averaged just 12.3 points and 2 assists when TL played. And it wasn't a situation where the Heat could afford to have him sit back and just play defense, they absolutely need his scoring (Butler was the only other Heat player to average in double figures). As we've seen for years now, while he does have a decent jump shot in the paint, if he can't overwhelm his defender physically, Bam is basically useless offensively. He couldn't do that against Rob, even when he was less than 100%.

The one game that TL missed in that series, Bam was 15-22 for 31 points and 6 assists. I specifically remember posting in the fall that the one matchup in which KP might be significantly worse defensively than TL was against Bam and the Heat, but I also remember saying that it just didn't matter because Bam wasn't a good enough scorer to make it hurt.
 

benhogan

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I don't know if he is a good deal better than any of those guys. Some of the shine is the fact that he plays on an incredible defensive team with 2 great defensive guards and 2 great defensive wings. I love Kornet and think he is a good player, but he has warts, just like all those other guys.

It will be interesting to see, but I don't think he sniffs anything more than 5 per year
Damn they are paying Springer $4M next season.

If they can get Luke at $5M/yr Brad should lock him up for as long as possible. He'll age well with his vertical spacing.

Has there been any explanation why he stopped shooting 3s? His first 2 seasons he played about 16.5 minutes a game, averaged 4.1 3s a game at around .365%. He took one at the end of the season and it was pure. Just seems odd he completely removed it from his bag when it was a decent weapon that could easily improve
Probably wanted to stay disciplined, fulfill his role, & keep his NBA job without the variance of 3pt shooting.

Plus Luke is bright enough to realize he is mostly on the floor with PP & Hauser. Playing D, setting screens, & rolling creates tremendous value.

A multiple-year, gtd deal may greenlight more 3PA for future seasons.