Original pick: Tyler Lydon
Luke Kornet’s original draft position: Undrafted
Kornet shouldn’t, at least on paper, fit in the modern NBA. There just aren’t many centers who last in this league who aren’t athletic rim-runners or three-point threats.
Yet, the 7’2″, 250-pounder, who basically began his career as a jumbo-sized shooting specialist, has managed to carve out a useful niche for the defending champion Boston Celtics. He has become a steady source of subtle, smart plays, whether that’s freeing a teammate with a screen, finding an open shooter out of the short roll, boxing out, competing on the glass or just routinely occupying the right place at the right time.
His long road to reach this point weakens his overall body of work, and his skills may not shine the same way if he wasn’t surrounded by arguably the league’s best roster. Saying that, he still gets at least a few flowers for finding his way.
