1 player the Nuggets could steal away from the 2 Finals teams this offseason

Player from the Celtics: Luke Kornet

The Celtics have done an incredible job building their roster and they’ve done it in a way that is sustainable - at least in the short term. The team is likely going to be able to keep all of their top six players for another season (and perhaps beyond) and even Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser will likely be back on cheap contracts. 

But the Celtics have so much depth they can’t possibly retain everyone and even their deep bench players could be key contributors on other good teams. One such player is Luke Kornet, the Celtics’ backup center. Kornet’s $2.4 million minimum contract is expiring and he’ll hit the open market.

Kornet is a big-bodied 7’2” true center who has shown a great ability to defend around the rim, use his size to hold up in pick-and-roll coverage and finish around the basket on offense. He plays within himself and he’s become a very solid and reliable bench player. With Kristaps Porzingis healthy, the Celtics haven’t needed Kornet’s services in these Finals, but he has held up well in his playoff minutes up to this point.

He could easily be a cap casualty for the Celtics, especially as they brought in Xavier Tillman at the trade deadline. He would be an excellent option as a backup center for the Nuggets and could buy them some quality minutes when it’s time for Nikola Jokic to rest. He should also be relatively affordable and should be a highly realistic target for the Nuggets this offseason.