Enes Kanter Signs With Portland Trailblazers

The New York Knicks have lost 17 straight games and have the worst record in the NBA. You’d think that a team in such miserable form could find a spot on the roster for a talented big man. That apparently wasn’t the case with center Enes Kanter. Kanter was waived by the Knicks at the trade deadline but has definitely ‘landed on his feet’ by signing with the Portland Trailblazers.

Just a few weeks ago, Kanter made headlines by complaining that the Knicks weren’t giving him sufficient playing time. Prior to his release, he had appeared in just three of the Knicks previous 12 games and wasn’t the least bit happy about his diminished role. The ‘party line’ is that head coach David Fizdale is trying to ‘develop young talent’ which is why DeAndre Jordan, Luke Kornet and Mitchell Robinson were getting the minutes that Kanter wasn’t. Even as the losses piled up, the Knicks couldn’t find a use for a very talented and highly regarded big man.

New York tried to trade Kanter but his $18.6 million expiring contract made doing so untenable. The Knicks had discussions with several teams but ultimately none could make the financial element of the deal work. Instead, the Knicks waived Kanter along with veteran guard Wesley Matthews at the trade deadline. Matthews quickly signed with the Indiana Pacers but Kanter took time to survey the market. On Wednesday, he signed with the Portland Trailblazers after being courted by a number of teams including the Los Angeles Lakers.

In limited action this year, Kanter has averaged 14 points and 10.5 rebounds despite playing only 25.6 minutes per game. Upon his release, he made this classy statement on his Twitter account:

“Each day I spend in the NBA is a blessing and I look forward to my next adventure… As grateful as I am [to the Knicks], I am also excited to continue playing basketball and showcasing that I can be one of the most dominant forces in the paint. New York will always have a special place in my heart and I look forward to returning here and playing in front of these amazing fans again.”

Kanter is a very interesting dude. A native of Turkey, he’s been a vocal critic of the country’s current President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Suffice to say that the President hasn’t taken kindly to this. The Turkish government cancelled his passport in 2017 and then issued an arrest warrant suggesting that the NBA player was part of a ‘terrorist group’. In January, he skipped the New York Knicks’ trip to London due to concern that his life might be endangered by traveling to Europe.

Portland is currently tied for fourth place in the Western Conference and the addition of Kanter gives them some nice depth at center along with 24 year old Bosnian national Jusuf Nurkic. He’ll likely be embraced by the Portland community so it looks like a win/win situation for both team and player. NBA futures odds show that the Blazers are currently a +10000 choice to win the championship and a +6600 choice to win the Western Conference.