Getty Luke Kornet warming up for the Celtics before facing the Brooklyn Nets.
Luke Kornet made his debut for the Maine Celtics on Friday, November 5, and was quickly the best player on the floor. Flirting with a triple-double, the 7-foot-2 floor-stretching big man ended the contest with 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 33 minutes of game time.
🦄 Luke Kornet was a PROBLEM last night…
18 points
11 rebounds
7 assists
3 blocks
1 Win
#CrustaceanNation t.co/r5pHaRN8j1
Kornet went 7-14 from the field and hit two of his five three-point attempts as the Maine Celtics defeated the College Park Skyhawks by a comfortable 13-point margin. Kornet played 18 games for the Boston Celtics last season after the team acquired him as part of a trade package that saw Daniel Theis head to Chicago last season.
After joining the Celtics last season, Kornet carved out a rotation role for himself due to his ability to guard the rim in pick-and-roll situations. He ended the regular season averaging 1.4 blocks over his 18 game stint to a total of 25 blocks in 18 games, per Basketball-Reference.
Brad Stevens said everyone knows Luke Kornet can shoot the ball, but the Celtics have been intrigued by his pick-and-roll defense for a long time. He wanted to see if Kornet could help spread the floor after Moses Brown dominated the first half of the game.
Following Kornet’s spell with the Celtics, he signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the team heading into training camp before being routed to the Maine Celtics due to the Celtics’ strength in depth at the center position.
The Celtics have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Luke Kornet, per sources.
He’ll participate in training camp with Boston later this month, joining Juwan Morgan as the latest frontcourt additions.
Boasting four years of NBA playing experience, the G-League will be a new challenge for the former Vanderbilt big man as he looks to carve out a route back to the NBA. Kornet has played on four teams since going undrafted in 2017 and has a total of 133 NBA games under his belt, with 35 of them coming as a starter. It’s also important to note that this isn’t the first time Kornet has had to work his way into the NBA from a two-way contract, as he used a similar route during the 2017-18 season.
Over his career, Kornet has averaged 5.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and an assist per game while shooting 40.5% from the field and 32.8% from three. Now playing on an exciting Maine team that boasts numerous former NBA players such as Ryan Arcidiacono and Theo Pinson, Kornet will be placing himself in the shop window for an NBA team who needs additional floor spacing and shot-blocking as the season wears on.
Sam Hauser Goes Lights Out in G-League Debut
Another undrafted player who can stretch the floor is Sam Hauser, who signed a two-way deal with the Celtics in July 2021 just a day after going undrafted. Shortly after inking his contract, Hauser was thrown into the Celtics Summer League rotation. He was impressed with his shooting stroke and ability to adapt to an increased talent level on the fly.
Sources: Sam Hauser will sign a Two-Way contract with the Boston Celtics. He’s also expected to join Boston’s Summer League team.
Hauser, a sharp-shooting wing, almost averaged a 50/40/90 season in his final collegiate year but fell 0.4% shy at the free-throw line. “If I could have made two more free throws, I would have had it, but overall it was a great year, and I couldn’t complain,” Hauser said in an early October interview with CelticsBlog.
Now part of the Maine Celtics, the Virginia Cavaliers product shot lights out in his debut, dropping a team-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting, with six of his makes coming from three-point range on 11 attempts.
With the Celtics struggling for floor spacing and consistent three-point shooting off their bench, Hauser has an opportunity to carve out a role for himself in the Celtics’ rotation. According to new two-way player rules, two-way players can compete in up to 50 regular-season games for their NBA teams and have no limit of practices and workouts, meaning we’re likely to hear of Hauser impressing head coach Ime Udoka in the coming months.
While Hauser’s shooting is already above NBA average, the concerns about his defensive ability are what saw him go undrafted, something which he’s well aware of and has been working on improving since entering the league. “With my defense, I think in Summer League I did pretty solid, but now going against NBA All-Stars that are on our team like Jayson and Jaylen, it’s really testing me in a good way as well,” Hauser explained during the October CelticsBlog interview.
While Hauser’s debut for the Maine Celtics was encouraging, he will need to continue stringing impressive performances together if he wishes to earn minutes on the floor for the Celtics. Still, with their shooting and spacing troubles, there’s undoubtedly a defined path to regular-season minutes for the rookie wing.
Maine Celtics Roster Full of NBA Talent
In their first season since rebranding from the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics G-League affiliate is teeming with former NBA talent looking for a way back into the NBA. In an October article for Forbes, Celtics reporter Chris Grenham detailed why this year’s Maine Celtics will be an exciting team to follow for Celtics fans.
“Juwan Morgan, Theo Pinson, Luke Kornet, Ryan Arcidiacono and Chris Clemons were all signed to Exhibit 10 deals during Boston’s training camp, which allows them to head to Maine as affiliate players,” Grenham wrote.
With so many former NBA talents, along with Hauser and former Oregon standout Kenny Wooten Jr, this year’s G-League team projects to be a fun and a competitive roster that has all the ingredients to challenge for the G-League championship at the end of the season.
Of course, for players such as Pinson, Kornet, and Arcidiacono, their aim isn’t to remain in the G-League all year. Still, until an NBA team comes calling, they’re going to be incredibly impactful additions to the Maine rotation.
If you wish to follow the Maine Celtics this season, you can do so via Twitch or ESPN+ and follow the team across all major social platforms.