Knicks center Enes Kanter sounded off on his reduced playing time following a miserable night in Utah, relays Marc Berman of the New York Post. Kanter was pulled from the starting lineup earlier this season to give a more prominent to rookie Mitchell Robinson. With Robinson injured, Kanter remains a reserve as the team tries out little-used Luke Kornet.
The frustration overflowed last night following an 0-for-6 performance in which Kanter didn’t enter the game until nine minutes had elapsed and the Knicks were already trailing by 14 points.
“I understand we want the young guys to get better, but it’s very painful to watch it out there,’’ Kanter said. “I’m essentially positive and try to help the young guys get better. It’s too early in the season to shut me down. My goal this year was to go out and be an All-Star, but now look at the situation.’’
Kanter stopped short of asking for a trade, but he fears his minutes will be cut even further once Robinson returns. After opting in last summer, Kanter has an $18.6MM expiring contract that could be attractive to a contender.
There’s more this morning out of New York:
- In addition to the on-court frustration, Kanter learned Saturday that the NBA won’t be taking action against Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham for his role in a fracas this week, Berman adds. Kanter had called on the league to fine Ham for allegedly pushing him from behind during an altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo. An NBA source told Berman that Ham “acted as a peacemaker to separate the players.”
- The Knicks envision Damyean Dotson as part of their future, Berman writes in a separate story. The team has until July 15 to guarantee his $1.6MM contract for next season and seems likely to do so. New York has received calls about him from other teams, including Detroit and Brooklyn, notes Berman, who speculates that having young wings like Dotson and Allonzo Trier could make the Knicks more willing to deal Tim Hardaway Jr. to help open cap space for a run at Kevin Durant.
- As Emmanuel Mudiay prepares for Monday’s return to Denver, he tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that things got so bad late in his tenure there that he stopped talking to the media. Mudiay never developed into the player Nuggets hoped when they took him with the seventh pick in 2015, and he was benched prior to the February trade that brought him to New York. “It was just the best decision at the time for both of us,” Mudiay said of the deal. “So it’s not like, I want to prove y’all wrong or blah, blah, blah. It’s just certain things had to happen and it worked out best for both sides.”
Kanter is a role player on a bad team. Know your role!!
Kanter has said this multiple times which isn’t being positive to the younger players. The only thing he’s done is get replaced by New York because they don’t want to pay him next summer, and piss off almost every star in the league who now won’t want to play with him when he’s a free agent. So that cuts off half the league. A bad team won’t want him because they are trying to tank and don’t want his over priced contract on the books to go with him constantly commenting on every thing and blowing it out of proportion. He’s basically killing his career with out realizing it.
He isnt on the team next year. Theres no paying him.
I know
I’m saying they don’t have him next year, they don’t want to pay him, so they are looking at the younger players because they won’t win with him.
I have a bit of a different take on Kanter. Yes, the complaining to the media when his minutes get cut is not good for the team or the young players, but I don’t think it’s selfish, I think he’s an Uber competitive guy who wants to win. He thinks nothing of mixing it up with the opposition, and is the first one in to protect his teammates. He’s not a key player on any team, but 14 and 11 is still 14 and 11. He looks very passionate on the court, and seems intense off it.
Will he get another bloated contract next season from anyone, no. Will he likely need to sign for the mid-level exception, yes. He’s not a star, but I think he’s better than he gets credit for.
Fire up the trade machine.. Knicks Wizards and one of Beal/Porter. I mean how confident are the Knicks that they land a premier FA next year. If it’s like 60-40, I’m on the phone with Memphis, I’ll take Parsons and an unprotected 2021 1st and ship Kanter and Thomas over. I dont see them getting anyone other than Russell/Rozier.
Kanter is well liked within the Knick organization and is VERY popular with his teammates, in particular the younger ones. The same was true in OKC. Not surprising, he’s what anyone who’s played the game would want in a teammate (although perhaps not a roommate, since he rarely shuts up).
The PT issue this year is not about the merits of his play. Like a lot of big men, his deliberate power-skill game is built for another era (like 10 years ago), though, last year, when the offensive has some structure, he still put up All Star numbers per 36. He can’t do anything like that in Fizdale’s offense (if it couldn’t accommodate Marc Gasol, it can’t accommodate Kanter), which likely means it’s time to move on.
Excellent scouting report
Except for the comparison to Marc Gasol, who plays exceptional defense and can stroke the three. Two things Kant0r is incapable of doing.
Knicks are doing the right thing …
They know what Kantor is as does the league & they will probably move him by the Deadline so what they want to find out about is the kids: plus they don’t care how
many games they win this year: Better pick.
Kantor is a nightmare and needs to be traded or told to stay home until hes traded.
He’s a terrible player and a worse teammate who cares about his stats and nothing else. The way he talks about his teammates makes me sick. hes an embarrassment.
Management totally screwed Fitz and the team by not bringing in more size.
THJR better be playing so much to showcase him for a trade. Huge mistake otherwise.
I dont have issues getting blown out when we have 1 competent frontcourt player. I do have issues with management not addressing such an obvious issue when its existed since pre season.
it is not the fault of Fitz or the non players.
Kanter seems like a swell guy.