Tarris Reed Jr.’s arrival gives the Spurs something they needed badly: a real fight for the backup center job.
That matters for Luke Kornet. After a strong first season in San Antonio, Kornet didn’t deliver the same value in the playoffs.
When Wemby was off the floor, opponents went right at him at the rim and made life difficult on the glass. The Spurs knew they had to address that frontcourt problem, and drafting Reed late in the first round was their answer.
Now the bench unit has a new wrinkle. Reed hasn’t been shy about wanting to get on the floor and help right away, and if he earns those minutes, Kornet’s place in the rotation could look very different. That kind of pressure can be uncomfortable, but it can also be exactly what a team needs.
For San Antonio, the upside is obvious: there are options now. Last season, Kornet was basically Mitch Johnson’s only interior backup when Victor sat.
This year, that won’t be the case. And with Reed pushing for minutes, Kornet has a clear incentive to sharpen the areas that hurt him most in the postseason.
That could mean rebounding harder, holding his ground better defensively, or simply becoming more reliable when the Spurs need a steady presence inside. The dynamic is straightforward, but it’s a good one for San Antonio - a young, energetic rookie challenging an established veteran with three NBA Finals appearances on his résumé.
And Reed isn’t just competing on potential. At 264 pounds, he brings a bigger frame than Kornet, and he knows how to use it.
He can carve out space, fight for offensive and defensive rebounds, and, with his 7'4" wingspan, make the paint a tougher place to attack. That’s exactly the kind of profile that could matter if the Spurs are looking for a stronger answer when Wemby is out.
So Kornet is under the gun. Experience gives him a head start, but Reed has the physical tools to do the things Kornet struggled with last postseason. That’s the price - and the benefit - of building out the bench.
In Other News...
Wolves G League Trade Could Be Setting Up Another Guard Move
A multi-team G League deal this week sent the Stockton Kings the returning player rights to Tristen Newton and Teddy Allen, a move that also involved the Delaware Blue Coats and Iowa Wolves. On its face, it is the kind of transaction that lives deep in the leagues transaction wire, but these smaller-player rights swaps often hint at broader roster churn ahead as organizations keep their options open around the edges of the NBA season.
For the Spurs, the bigger picture still comes back to the same place: Victor Wembanyama is back in the frame after his time away with the French national team, and the organization is entering a stretch where every guard and every depth move matters. San Antonio also just announced a direct-to-consumer media partnership with DAZN, giving the club another way to stay connected with fans as the on-court roster conversation keeps evolving. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Fans Will Have Strong Feelings About Kawhis New Fallout
The NBA handed down a major punishment to the Clippers on Wednesday, stripping the franchise of five first-round draft picks, suspending owner Steve Ballmer for a year and fining him $30 million in a case tied to Kawhi Leonard. For Spurs fans who remember Leonards rise in San Antonio before everything that followed, the latest fallout is another reminder that his path through the league has rarely come without drama, and this one now reaches into the draft future.
Leonard was also fined $700,000 as part of the leagues action, adding another layer to a situation that already has the Clippers dealing with the loss of valuable assets. The penalties leave plenty of questions hanging over what comes next for Los Angeles and Leonard, with his future expected to take another turn toward the Raptors as the leagues discipline continues to reshape the story. [Read more 🡒]
Keldon Johnson Faces A Spurs Role Shift That Could Define Camp
Keldon Johnson is headed into Spurs training camp with a different kind of assignment in front of him. After years in a more on-ball role, his responsibilities figure to look slimmer in the half-court as San Antonio sorts through a roster that now has more mouths to feed and more creators to work with. Even so, Johnson is still in the mix and remains a familiar piece for a team trying to clarify how its rotation fits together.
The bigger question is how the Spurs make the most of what Johnson still does well. His playoff struggles are part of the backdrop, but camp is really about fit now, not just volume, and the staff will spend time figuring out where his energy lands best next to new and existing teammates. If he can settle into a steadier job as a rebounder, defender, and quick-trigger shooter, his season could end up being defined less by touches and more by usefulness. [Read more 🡒]