New York Knicks: Pros and cons of trading Enes Kanter to Kings

Con: A complicated deal for a player with no Knicks future

It goes back to the New York Knicks making a trade that does not move the needle.

Kanter hits free agency this July after making $18.6 million on the final year of his contract. That money consumes most of the team’s cap space, a projected $29 million, and if he garners an eight-figure salary in the offseason, it’s difficult to think the Knicks use their space on him for another year or two.

So Kanter won’t return, but that high salary makes a deal complicated to move anywhere, unless another team can match it. The Kings can, but Wojnarowski’s report included them wanting to move more expiring salaries and welcome a third team. Is that worth it for the Knicks to involve themselves in?

A deal can appease both sides, as noted, but jumping through hoops to trade someone that will become a free agent soon may prove rocky, even with the Kings. It should be easy, due to the cap space general manager Vlade Divac has, but if Sacramento wants a larger deal, it’s tough to justify for the Knicks without sending Courtney Lee or Tim Hardaway Jr.’s salaries somewhere and not taking future money back.

If a trade becomes too complicated with the Kings, since they are one of few viable options to take Kanter’s salary, the Knicks staying idle makes sense.