New York Knicks: Enes Kanter displeased with role reduced
Enes Kanter’s role was reduced again, before the New York Knicks’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he expressed frustration with the situation.
Enes Kanter was available for the New York Knicks in their 127-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday, but in a bench role, again. Mitchell Robinson and Luke Kornet, both younger than Kanter, have taken priority.
It was Kanter’s first game back. He previously missed time with an illness and declining to travel amid prosecution concerns from his native country, Turkey. Before that, Kornet had assumed the starting center role.
When the 26-year-old’s role was reduced earlier this season to a reserve, it led to public comments of displeasure. The same happened post-game, per ESPN’s Ian Begley, with Fizdale’s decision to place Kanter behind Robinson and Kornet in the rotation:
"“I’m a player. We are competitors, so [we want to] play big minutes,” Kanter said. “If you look at the whole year, first 41 games, I did not miss a game. And they put me in fourth [in the] rotation [on Monday], it definitely hurts. It hurts a lot.”"
Kanter played 19 minutes, finishing with 11 points and three rebounds.
As for a potential trade, the former 2011 lottery pick deferred it to his agent and the Knicks’ front office.
"“I love it here but in the end, I want to play basketball. I miss playing basketball, man,” Kanter said. “And I would let [Knicks general manager] Scott [Perry] and my agent [Mark Bartelstein] handle that stuff.”"
It’s an obvious sign that Kanter’s future is limited in New York, no matter how much he loves the city. The stock is in Kornet and Robinson beyond 2018-19, though the former’s contract will expire this offseason.
If the Knicks want to break this relationship sooner than later, they can work a buyout with Kanter, allowing him to sign with any time he desires, potentially on the veteran’s minimum. That’s instead of trading him to the Chicago Bulls or Sacramento Kings for a fellow expiring contract and maybe a draft asset.
Otherwise, few teams are viable options to assume Kanter’s $18.6 million without the Knicks receiving cap commitments for 2019-20 and beyond. With salary cap space a focus, the team has little reason to assume eight figures when Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and Kemba Walker are all available in July.
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Kanter’s time with the New York Knicks ending seems to be optimal at this point. The team has reduced his role by the month, and he wants to play and win games, something accomplished just 10 times by Fizdale’s bunch. Parting ways before this situation escalates makes too much sense, but how the organization handles this remains to be seen. The trade deadline is Feb. 7.