Spurs gifted a massive steal absolutely no one is talking about

By now, San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet is already among the most liked players on the team. But he isn't just a fan favorite; he has been a massive free agent find for the Spurs.

In fact, he was their first move on the first day of free agency, and they are looking like geniuses for stealing him away from the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were unable to match a big contract offer from another team and were forced to let him leave in free agency.

San Antonio has benefited all season from that move. With star Victor Wembanyama in and out of the lineup and on a minute restriction currently, Coronet has allowed San Antonio to stay afloat, even thrive, while they work to get their best player back to full strength.

The Spurs look like geniuses for signing Luke Kornet to a cheap deal

Better still, San Antonio had the foresight to sign him to an advantageous 4-year, $41 million contract that will keep him with the Spurs even when they begin to get expensive. Contrast this with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Isaiah Hartenstein, with OKC signing him to a short-term deal to lure him away from the New York Knicks.

That worked out in the short term for the Thunder with him helping win a championship last season. But with them about to become massively expensive, Hartenstein may not return next season given cap constraints.

Meanwhile, Kornet may only be scratching the surface of what he can do with the Spurs. They clearly already trust him, with Kornet having started 22 games thus far, including with Wembanyama coming off the bench.

So much so that it's entirely possible that Kornet could eventually start full-time next to Wembanyama, forming a new twin towers. Considering that many Spurs fans were hoping that they'd sign someone else or were simply unfamiliar with his game, he has been a big pleasant surprise.

Rival teams should be kicking themselves for not signing Kornet

Then there are the other teams that could have pursued him on the first day of free agency but either didn't or didn't offer enough to lure him away from Boston. Their failing to do so has helped San Antonio get off to their best start in years and could result in them finishing the year with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

That's with any outside "experts" predicting that they might be a play-in team. Truthfully, they likely would be in that position if Kornet hadn't played so well when Wembanyama was out of the lineup. His numbers won't jump off the screen, but his impact was huge.

He's a classic center who does all of the little things well and really doesn't have a weakness in his game. His rebounding has been especially impactful, with him creating plenty of extra possessions.

That includes grabbing six against the Thunder and five against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even his free throw shooting is a big plus, with him shooting 82.4% from the line.

Ultimately, while there may have been bigger names signed during the offseason, it's hard to argue that any has had the same impact that Kornet has. With him under contract for the next three seasons, San Antonio could continue to reap the rewards of their terrific free agent move for years to come.