Milwaukee Bucks Sign Big-Man Luke Kornet to 10 Day Hardship Deal

With both Semi Ojeleye and Thanasis Antetokounmpo out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly signed big-man Luke Kornet to a 10-day hardship contract, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 7’2″ Kornet is recently coming off a 10-day deal with Cleveland, where he would appear in two games and average 7.5 minutes per contest, scoring four total points. He spent the 2017-2018  and 2018-2019 seasons with the New York Knicks, the 2019-2020 season with Chicago, and last season with both the Bulls and Boston Celtics.

Kornet’s most productive seasons were his first three with the Knicks and Bulls, where he would average 16.4 minutes per game, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 6.6 points–although it’s worth noting that he’s never appeared in more than 46 games in a single season.

While he is a career 32.7 percent 3-point shooter, he did find some success early in his career from beyond the arc, knocking down 35.4 percent of his 4.0 attempts per game as a rookie with the Knicks and 36.3 percent of his 4.2 attempts the following season with New York.

Kornet was used somewhat sparingly with the Bulls last season — 7.2 minutes per contest and just 2.1 field goal attempts per game — but he did see his usage increase when he joined the Celtics. With Boston, Kornet averaged 14.1 minutes, 4.1 shot attempts, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.4 points.

He has a career defensive rating of 103.4 during his first four NBA seasons and Kornet is averaging 0.9 blocks per game, with a career-high of 1.4 during his tenure with Boston that spanned 18 games.

Will we see much of Luke Kornet in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform while he is under contract?

Ultimately, and probably just like Javin DeLaurier, who was recently signed to a 10-day deal as well, we aren’t going to see much of Kornet in a Milwaukee Bucks’ uniform. In the end, this will likely end up being a depth signing while Milwaukee is without Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Ojeleye.

The Milwaukee Bucks currently find themselves on a six-game winning streak, led by their big-3, and are third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 25-13. Milwaukee’s next game will take place on Monday night at the Fiserv Forum against a struggling Detroit Pistons team.