Brad Stevens Confirms Celtics Champion Chose Spurs Over Boston

Now, the roles are reversed. Luke Kornet, the valuable and active big man for the Celtics over the past few seasons, signed with the Spurs in the offseason, adding some pivotal depth around Victor Wembanyama.

Kornet signed a four-year, $41 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs in free agency, with a descending type of contract that is fully guaranteed for the first two years, with a partial guarantee in the third year and a non-guaranteed fourth year.

Stevens Talks About His Departure

Kornet's former employer, Brad Stevens, talked at length about losing both Kornet and new Golden State Warriors forward Al Horford in the same offseason.

“We offered both Al and Luke the opportunity to stay, but I think you can see where our contracts were with who we signed that we were going to be handcuffed around the aprons a little bit,” Stevens said. “And I think that that is part of the, you know, we knew that there were going to have to be big moves, and then in addition to that, Luke played his way into a great opportunity and great contract, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for him."

"Those phone calls are hard because you’re not going to see those guys every day, but you’re also, like, jacked for him to get a chance to do that. And then Al, same thing. We gave out an offer, but there wasn’t any expectation that he wouldn’t take a bigger offer elsewhere and go play, because that’s his right. He’s been great for us, and we very much value our time together," he concluded.

How Kornet Can Help the Spurs

Kornet is expected to be a dependable backup center behind Wembanyama, which has been a position of need in his time with the Spurs over the last few seasons.

Kornet has shown to be an excellent rim protector and a very vital drop defender in the pick and roll, which will be essential for a Spurs team that suffered in non-Wembanyama minutes in the 2024-2025 season.

Being an NBA champion and a seasoned veteran, Kornet will bring some needed experience and maturity to a young roster looking to get back into playoff contention. It is an under-the-radar move now, but in the future, it could pay massive dividends as his contract ages.

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