Enes Kanter found another reason to be unhappy with the New York Knicks, as one player from the Kristaps Porzingis trade could push the veteran center down the rotation, again.
Before the Kristaps Porzingis hoopla, the New York Knicks dealt with another controversy, albeit to a lesser scale. Enes Kanter inserted himself into the spotlight for losing playing time, frequently receiving a “DNP-CD” next to his name on the box score.
Head coach David Fizdale has used the Turkish big man the past two games, but for no more than 13 minutes.
The Porzingis trade cleared three backcourt players, but New York acquired DeAndre Jordan, who’s mostly been a starter in his 11 seasons. Per ESPN’s Ian Begley, Fizdale said he wants to get Jordan minutes at center.
However, this ruffled Kanter, also per Begley. He called the potential decision to sit behind an older player “disrespectful,” since he already lost minutes to younger centers.
David Fizdale says he’s going to try to find minutes for DeAndre Jordan because he believes Jordan can help NYK’s young bigs learn how to defend. Enes Kanter respects Jordan, 30, but would feel disrespected by the Knicks if Jordan plays ahead of him. He explains why here: pic.twitter.com/ZkK6wfwwjW
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 2, 2019
The minutes decline started after this season’s fifth game, when Kanter became a backup to Mitchell Robinson. This lasted into November, before the veteran center reassumed the starting role, only to drop it to Luke Kornet, formerly out of the rotation for two months.
Kanter acted as a reserve until Robinson returned from an ankle sprain, further pushing the former down the rotation and into his first absences via coach’s decision of 2018-19. That created multiple public displays of dissatisfaction.
However, even as the situation escalates in the media, Kanter remains with the Knicks. The trade deadline is Thursday, but no reports have surfaced for a potential deal since the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings rumors.
Trading for Kanter means another team must match is $18.6 million salary. The Bulls and Kings were two organizations that could have equaled it.
With few options aside from those teams, a buyout still makes sense to end this tumultuous relationship. Kanter can align with a contender for the playoff stretch, and the Knicks can continue to move forward, into the unpredictable 2019 offseason.
The 26-year-old’s time with the Knicks has an inevitable end. Feb. 7 is one point, but before Mar. 1 seems likelier and, for everyone’s sake, it must happen.