The San Antonio Spurs strengthened their big man depth by adding veteran center Kelly Olynyk and signing Luke Kornet.
SAN ANTONIO — One of the offseason moves the San Antonio Spurs likely had on their to-do list was addressing the need for more big man depth behind Victor Wembanyama.
The team took steps to address this by adding a pair of 7-footers in signing free agent Luke Kornet and trading for Kelly Olynyk.
And the veteran center believes he will make an immediate impact on the floor.
“[I’m] just trying to add in a veteran presence that can be versatile on both ends of the floor, especially offensively and try to be a connector for those guys and then just stretch the floor and just create space whenever you can,” said Olynyk to ESPN.
The Spurs will boast a triple-tower of centers next season.
With Victor Wembanyama cleared for full-contact training and past his blood clot issues, San Antonio will have a trio of big men who can present different looks for opposing defenses.
Olynyk will bring his 12 years of NBA experience to the young squad, as well as his career three-point shooting percentage of 37% (42% last season). Kornet will bring his energy, rim protection, defensive stability, offensive rebounding, and hustle. While Wembanyama will continue to be the menace he is on both ends of the floor.
And Olynyk believes the big men will complement one another next season.
“I think that we all complement each other in different ways. We all have a little bit of a different game,” he said. “So to be able to play with each other and play off each other.”
Olynyk’s optimism comes as no surprise.
He admits he has never played with the likes of Wembanyama, who at 7-3 can play like a guard, shoot from long range, and dominate in the paint.
“It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to do that. Obviously, he changes the game on both ends of the floor with his size and his length and his abilities to play,” he said. “Kind of do everything with the basketball. So I’m really excited about that.”
Of course, having Wemby protecting the lane does make life easier, as Olynyk will soon learn.
“When you have someone like him protecting the ribbon behind you, it makes you a lot more confident on that end of the floor.”
Ultimately, the Spurs will have an intimidating trio of bigs once the new season begins. From protecting the rim, altering shots, rebounding, scoring, three-point threats, and more, San Antonio’s frontcourt would rank among the best on both ends of the court and can do it all together.
“Just maximize each other’s strengths. Try to bring out the best in everybody,” he said.
Said Olynyk: “I think what you’re seeing now is those seven footers are a lot more skilled than they used to be. You’ll be hard pressed to guard a post these days, maybe the mid post, but a real post doesn’t exist.”