The Bucks are interested in soon-to-be restricted free agent Enes Kanter, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Thunder are nonetheless committed to re-signing the big man whom they acquired at the deadline from the Jazz, as GM Sam Presti said last month to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.
Milwaukee is reportedly eyeing DeAndre Jordan, Brook Lopez and Tyson Chandler as it seeks a marquee center. The team impinged on its cap flexibility with Thursday’s trade for Greivis Vasquez and his $6.6MM salary for next season, though Kanter, with only four years of NBA experience, is eligible for a cheaper max than Jordan, Lopez and Chandler are.
The Thunder cleared some committed money from their books this week, trading Jeremy Lamb‘s guaranteed salary of more than $3MM for Luke Ridnour‘s non-guaranteed salary. Oklahoma City still figures to go well into the tax to retain Kanter, though the Lamb-Ridnour deal eases some of the financial pain of doing so.