Spurs' additions at center haven't yet changed Luke Kornet's importance

The San Antonio Spurs invested two first-round draft picks in improving the depth at center. They utilized the No. 20 and No. 26 overall selections to acquire Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr. at the 2026 NBA Draft, and thus appear to be hoping to develop them into key cogs alongside Victor Wembanyama.

Though the arrival of two first-round draft picks at his position might suggest otherwise, the Spurs' offseason activity hasn't changed how much they'll need Luke Kornet in 2026-27.

Kornet, 31, signed a four-year, $40.7 million contract with San Antonio in 2025. It's a frontloaded deal that seemingly aligns with the Spurs' draft strategy, as Kornet will be making less than $10 million per season starting in 2027-28 and can thus be more easily traded or featured less prominently.

In saying that, the Spurs are a championship-caliber team coming off of a loss in the NBA Finals—and they'll need Kornet if they're going to get back.

Kornet has his flaws, and the 2026 NBA Playoffs revealed many of them. His playing time was nearly slashed in half from 21.0 minutes per game during the regular season to 12.9 in the postseason, and he only cracked 10 minutes played in two games during the Finals.

In saying that, the Spurs still need to get back to the playoffs with optimal seeding—and Kornet will be an essential figure as San Antonio attempts to do so.

Luke Kornet covers for Wemby's injury history, rookies' inexperience

At full strength, San Antonio has enough firepower to overcome inconsistency from either Quaintance or Reed. Mistakes are inevitable from a rookie, and both players have the upside to justify investing time in their development.

In saying that, Wembanyama missed 36 games in 2024-25 and 18 in 2025-26. Until he course corrects, they'll need a starting-caliber regular season big to help provide adequate depth.

That's where Kornet not only has the tools to step in, but has already done so. In 2025-26, he started 25 of his 68 appearances with the Spurs. San Antonio went 20-5 during those games, during which Kornet played 25.8 minutes per contest.

That includes a stretch between Nov. 16 and Dec. 10 when Wembanyama missed 12 straight games and Kornet appeared and started in 11 of them. San Antonio went 9-2 during those outings.

The clock is ticking, but Luke Kornet still offers significant value

Furthermore, Kornet still checks pivotal boxes—even if only in the regular season. He's an excellent interior anchor who ranked in the 94th percentile or higher in rim protection, rim disruption, rim deterrence, post defense, and screener rim defense, per Basketball Index.

Kornet also ranked No. 3 in the NBA in screen assists per 75 possessions and pulled down 4.6 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes—good for No. 9 in the Association.

As a player who can impact the game without needing to touch the ball, Kornet's positives still outweigh his negatives. Developing Quaintance and Reed could make them better options over time, but until they prove ready for the moment, Kornet will need to step up with a strong season.

It may be easy to criticize Kornet after a tough postseason, but his value to the Spurs remains strong despite their draft activity.

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