Spurs to pursue Luke Kornet?

The Celtics have already had an active offseason, but Stevens set the stage for more activity after the draft when he said he wants to retain Kornet and Horford. The team currently has minimal flexibility under the second apron and would need to cut even more salary to keep both big men while avoiding the tax. -via New York Times / June 27, 2025

Looking to continue shedding salary, the Celtics have explored the idea of flipping Anfernee Simons’ $27.7 million expiring contract, according to league sources. In such a move, they would be aiming to accomplish two organizational directives Brad Stevens emphasized after the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday: regaining more roster flexibility and setting up a path to retain free agents Luke Kornet and Al Horford. -via New York Times / June 27, 2025

“I’ll repeat it over and over and over, we need to regain our flexibility,” Stevens said. “We need to maximize assets in return, and we need to regain some flexibility here. And whatever that means from a final cost standpoint is what it means. But I think the biggest thing is, as you look at the rest of the team and what we’re trying to do, there is no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back. Those guys are huge parts of this organization. They’re going to have, I’m sure, plenty of options all over the place, and that’s well-deserved, but I think that would be a priority. At the same time, I don’t want to put pressure on them. It’s their call ultimately. But, yeah, we would love to have those guys back.” -via New York Times / June 26, 2025