The Atlanta Hawks are a team many in various league circles have pegged as a landing spot for a center this offseason, and a new projection from Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus would see them follow through on that with 2024 NBA champion Luke Kornet.
Pending Boston Celtics free agent Luke Kornet is well-traveled, on his fifth team in eight seasons in the NBA.
The Hawks could become No. 6 in Season 9 for the former undrafted free agent.
“At almost 30, Kornet may have made some money for himself in the playoffs for the ‘Kornet Game,’ in which he blocked seven shots to help Boston win Game 5 over the New York Knicks (before the Jayson-Tatum-less Celtics eventually fell),” Pincus wrote on June 18.
“Kornet may not be a starter, but he’s shown throughout the last few years that he’s a viable rotation center who can provide a defensive presence. That might be enough for a team to pay more than Boston can or will, especially with the Celtics facing massive repeater taxes, in a year when Tatum (Achilles) is unlikely to suit up.”
Pincus predicts that the bi-annual exception, worth $5.1 million, per Spotrac, could be enough to “pry” Kornet loose.
Kornet is coming off a one-year, $2.8 million deal, so he could nearly double that.
While his seven-block showing will certainly be a talking point during his free agency, it was by far an outlier for Kornet.
He also scored 10 points and hauled in 9 rebounds in that game. For the season, Kornet averaged 6.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG with 1.6 assists. He recorded multiple blocks 19 times, at least 10 points 15 times, and at least nine boards nine times in his 73 appearances.
Still, Kornet’s camp can point to his tendency to step up when the moment calls for it.
Luke Kornet would bring length, versatility to Hawks
Kornet dabbled in long-range marksmanship, more so when he was younger than in recent seasons, adding to his value at the negotiating table this offseason.
The Hawks have been linked to higher-end options like Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers and Khaman Maluach of the Duke Blue Devils in the 2025 NBA Draft, both of whom would require some kind of trade to acquire this offseason.
Atlanta can explore other free agency and draft options as well.
They could even bank on Mouhamed Gueye taking another step after he played a critical role down the stretch this past season.
Kornet might not need to be the Hawks’ Plan A, but he should certainly be on their list of options this offseason. They need his height – he is listed at 7-foot-2 – just as much as they can use his skill set behind Onyeka Okongwu, with Clint Capela expected to leave in free agency.