The San Antonio Spurs made a smart move by bringing in Tobias Harris, but the work isn’t finished.
Even after adding a proven forward who boosts their depth and flexibility, the Spurs still have one obvious hole to patch: backup center. Right now, that job belongs to Luke Kornet, and the playoff evidence was ugly.
In the final two rounds, San Antonio was outscored by 60 points in Kornet’s 114 minutes on the floor. That’s not the kind of number a team with championship dreams can shrug off.
The regular season painted a friendlier picture. The Spurs were 3.2 points per 100 possessions better with Kornet playing, which makes him a fine enough option over 82 games.
But the playoffs told a different story, and the gap matters. San Antonio wants to win the championship in 2027, and that kind of target usually pushes a team toward a more trustworthy veteran behind its star.
And that star, of course, is Victor Wembanyama. He’s the starting center, but the Spurs need to protect his minutes during the regular season and keep him fresher when the games matter most.
They leaned too hard on him before. In the NBA Finals, Wembanyama played 38.6 minutes per game over the final two rounds and wore down.
San Antonio had nowhere else to turn. Kornet couldn’t handle the load, and Keldon Johnson was the next biggest player coming off the bench.
That’s why the Harris signing only solves part of the puzzle. Harris can help on offense, bring versatility, and even serve as a small-ball five in a pinch.
But the Spurs do not want him matching up with the league’s biggest bruisers like Nikola Jokic, Isaiah Hartenstein, or Rudy Gobert. They still need a real backup center.
The rest of the rotation is largely in place. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper are set to absorb most of the guard minutes.
Harris, Devin Vassell, and Julian Champagnie are expected to compete for the starting forward jobs, with Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, and Harrison Barnes behind them. That leaves the center spot as the glaring question mark.
San Antonio does have options. The team has two open roster spots, though the likely price tag is the minimum.
That could point them toward a veteran with experience or a younger player trying to carve out a role. A trade is also on the table, especially for a front office sitting on plenty of draft capital.
The Spurs may not have much choice. Wembanyama has changed the value of big men, and that market has already shown it can get expensive.
The Lakers just paid a huge price in a sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler. San Antonio might have to spend to solve this, too.
The Harris addition was a strong start. The next move could decide whether the Spurs are building toward a banner or staring at a playoff letdown. The pressure is on to get it done before training camp.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Find Themselves In A Frustrating Knicks Free Agency Fight
The backup-center market is getting crowded in a hurry, and San Antonio is suddenly part of the conversation even though the issue is bigger in New York. Both teams need frontcourt depth for the coming season, but the Spurs are at least starting from a place of flexibility, with Luke Kornet in the picture and several recent draft picks who could grow into the job if the staff wants to stay internal.
New York, by contrast, looks far more exposed behind Karl-Anthony Towns, which is why this competition could turn frustrating for San Antonio if the same names start disappearing. The Spurs are weighing whether to upgrade the spot rather than settle, and that leaves them balancing immediate need against the possibility that one of their young bigs can eventually claim the role. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Fans Are Going To Hate This New 2028 Pick Twist
The Celtics latest draft-pick haul in the Jaylen Brown trade is already drawing attention for its sheer volume, but the real intrigue is buried in the fine print around a 2028 first-rounder. Boston is also picking up a 2031 unprotected first and several second-rounders from Philadelphia, and the rest of the return is tangled up in a web of pick swaps involving the Clippers, Sixers, Celtics and Spurs. For San Antonio followers, the key piece is obvious: the Spurs own 2028 first-round slot is part of the machinery shaping how Bostons side of the deal could ultimately shake out.
What makes this even messier is that Bostons 2028 positioning may not stop with the picks already in the trade. There is reported language suggesting the Celtics could also swap into any additional 2028 first-round pick Philadelphia acquires later if that pick ends up more favorable, though it is still unclear how much of that wording will survive NBA review. For now, the structure leaves more questions than answers, and the Spurs connection to the whole thing is one more reason this deal may not be fully understood until the league signs off. [Read more 🡒]