Getting to Know New Bulls Center Luke Kornet: Career Stats, Fit, History, More

The Bulls have kept the wheel turning this free agency, so far making the following moves:

  • Thaddeus Young
  • Tomas Satornsky
  • Resigning Ryan Arcidiacono 
  • Now, the team has gone ahead and added a legitimate back-up center option to Wendell Carter Jr. Let’s take a look at recent Bulls addition Luke Kornet!

    Player, Age (in 2019), Position, Measurements

    Luke Kornet, 23, Center/Power Forward, 7-1 and 250 pounds

    Contract

  • 2 years, – TBD
  • 2018 Performance & Analysis

  • Season stats and per-game averages: 46 games (18 starts), 7.2 points, 1.2 assists, 2.9 rebounds; 37.8 FG%, 36.3 3PT%, 82.6.4 FT%, 50.2 eFG%, 53.1 TS%
  • The Bulls needed a back-up center, and that’s what they got. With Wendell Carter Jr. entering only his second season at 20-years-old after only playing 66 games in his first season due to injury, it was probably wise to make big men a priority this offseason. We already saw the team sign Thaddeus Young (may not have the measurables, but he plays big and can post-up well) who can help assert a little more dominance in the paint off the bench, but now the addition of former Knicks center Luke Kornet looks in position to be Carter Jr.’s official back-up.

    Since the Bulls avoided resigning Robin Lopez, allowing him to head up north to the Bucks (be free, Robin… be free), the addition of Kornet should help maintain a decent rim-protecting presence. Kornet may not provide the same assertive presence or touch around the rim, but he does bring along a much more modern, versatile skill set for a big man.

    Kornet is a towering figure who surprisingly has a pretty stable jump shot. He can be a bit clunky at times (hard not to be when you’re that tall) but, for the most part, he can work off-the-ball and provide some intangibles. He is a solid two-way center who, somewhat surprisingly, isn’t a liability when he has to pull-up from deep. For some reason though, his jumper inside the arc still has yet to develop. He only hit 41.1 percent of his two-point shots, something that for a center could mightily improve.

    Nevertheless, the dude can hit from some serious range, something that’s especially evident in his highlight package below where he scored 23-points against the Bucks (he hit 7(!) three’s in that game!)

    Defensively, he has a big frame, that’s for sure. He can shuffle his feet decently well, but he isn’t the cleanest defender. Kornet’s true bread-and-butter comes with his blocking ability. Due to his long arms, but I’ll give him credit for some decent timing as well, Kornet was able to block 42 shots over his 46 games played last season. As NBC Chicago Sports Mark Strotman points out, the combination of his blocking and three-point ability is a rather unique skill set in today’s NBA.

    Career Performance and Notable Accomplishments

  • Career stats and averages: 66 (19 starts), 6.9 points, 1.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds; 38.2 FG%, 36.0 3PT%, 80.7 FT%, 50.2 eFG%, 52.6 TS%
  • Fit

    Kornet gives the Bulls more versatility, while also filling the need for a back-up center. His fit may not be as necessary as guys like Young and Satoransky, but he continues the offseason trend of finding players that can give you a different look on the court.

    In a lot of ways, you can think of Kornet as a new toy, one that the Bulls can feel comfortable playing with over the course of the season. He has only appeared in 66 NBA games, but he clearly has a skill set that can help him develop into an efficient role player in this league. At only 23-years-old (24 later this month), the Bulls are adding another young piece into the mix that has quite a bit of potential, and if worst comes to worst, it doesn’t work out and the Bulls move on in two years. The addition of Kornet should also mean fewer minutes for Markkanen at center, something many assumed we might be seeing with the lack of depth on the roster. Markkanen’s time at center hasn’t necessarily gone too hot, even with his height-advantage at 7-feet-tall, so let’s just keep him over in the corner where he can go off.

    Anyway, you can see that Kornet has quite a bit of upside when you watch the spurts of dominance that he had over the course of this season. He can be pretty inconsistent right now, which is common for a young player, but if the Bulls can fine-tune his craft he could really become a productive asset off the bench.

    When you watch Kornet, he isn’t the most natural of players; in fact, you can almost see him thinking through every move on the court as he goes to set a pick or hit his mark, but it definitely demonstrates a level of focus on his part.

    The Bulls went into this offseason needing to expand its depth and step further away from relying on two-way-contracted players and unproven pieces off the bench. Kornet has a lot to learn, but he has already proven in his short time on the court that he can be a reliable player.

    I’m up for the ride.

    Highlights

    They Said It

    (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

    written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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