3:54pm: The Knicks have officially waived Kanter, the team announced today (via Twitter). He’ll clear waivers on Saturday.
2:35pm: Enes Kanter won’t have to worry about a negotiating a buyout in New York, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Knicks plan to release the unhappy center, meaning they will owe him the balance of his $18.6MM contract. The move could be finalized by the end of the day (Twitter link).
Kanter has been frustrated about his reduced playing time under first-year Knicks coach David Fizdale. Kanter began the season as the starter, but dropped down the depth chart as Fizdale created more minutes for Mitchell Robinson and Luke Kornet. Last week’s Kristaps Porzingis trade brought DeAndre Jordan to New York and left Kanter as the fourth-string center.
Kanter was outspoken about his situation and asked management for a trade if he wasn’t going to be used. Madison Square Garden fans have been vocal in their support of Kanter, chanting his name at recent games, but that may have been part of the reason the Knicks decided to act so quickly to get rid of him.
“I don’t know if the organization wants to hear that every game because it’s a little embarrassing,” Kanter said in an ESPN story. “Because after all this [Porzingis] trade and everything that the fans still want me to go out there and play. I don’t know if they wanna hear that chant every game.”
Several teams should be interested in the 25-year-old, who averaged 14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in 44 games.
Should be replacing Bird hopefully.
Just a guess… but I could see him going to the Kings.
knicks would rather eat money than negotiate with kanter in a buy-out
The three stooges do the right thing. Based on how he was treated, the Knicks should be thankful for the offset they’ll get.
He opted in knowing the Knicks were going to suck and prioritize development – also he’s no good on defense
Umm of course he took the money, not all players get 35 million a year. Still he was utilized a lot last year, how did he know that wouldn’t happen again?
Wrong. Don’t make stuff up. He was actually told the opposite by Mills (who encouraged him to opt in, build on last year and they’d discuss the LT contract he wanted this summer) although it doesn’t matter because the opt-in $$ were a part of the contract. This was before Fizdale was hired, but the latter’s handling of Kanter (like KP) was BS, passive aggressive sissy boy stuff. Kanter’s defense is irrelevant since he wasn’t benched on the merits. FWIW, the Knicks have been a worse defensive team without him. Tanking is fine, but there’s a way to treat affected players, and vilifying them in the media isn’t it.
As a Knicks fan who is daily reading all Knicks news, I don’t remember Mills telling Kanter to opt in. The Knicks wanted Kanter to opt out, not in. And Fizdale was hired well before Kanter opted in.
Mills never asked him to opt in. He’d have been fired if he did.
I can see Nets Kings or Raptors
Kings just waived McLemore, so a roster spot is open for Kanter
NYK didn’t want Kanter so bad, they didnt save a penny
Take your DNP in stride?
Not 1 word from Courtney Lee, who took DNP’s early in the season, was also on the trade block.
Kornet had a DNP last game, after Jordan, not 1 word…
Knicks still won the Carmelo Anthony trade, hands down
No one is disputing they won the melo trade
Essentially they ended up with mitchell robinson
Courtney Lee did speak out about his lack of playing time FWIW.
Mitchell Robinson and Emmanuel Mudiay (who they got for McDermott who was also part of the Melo trade). I mean the Knicks won that deal but I wouldn’t say they “hands down” won the trade. It sure didn’t make up for 7 playoff wins in 7 seasons with the Knicks. Mind you the Knicks also gave up the picks that eventually became Dario Saric and Jamal Murray in the original Melo trade.
In Kanter’s defense (not that he knows anything about it on the court), he’s in his walk year while Lee had another year left on his contract. Lee didn’t have a big enough reason…yet.
I guess nobody wants a big man that can go 20 & 12 w 60% FG in his sleep.
why trade for him if the Knicks were going to waive or buy him out anyway if they couldn’t find a trade.
If I’m the Celtics, I do !
When you don’t play defense, no one is going to want you.
Not unless they used a time machine and went back 15 years.
He is a defensive liability. Everyone has there way in the paint against Kanter.
And he is the definition of a defensive liability. I don’t think anybody in the league doubts his offensive talent. But there’s a reason why Utah and OKC, and now the Knicks, didn’t want him (besides his contract). He can’t really defend against the elite big men in the league but he can’t keep up against smaller players in a switch.
He should have had to give up some money
Why?
Your telling me you want that ass hat Dolan to be richer?
Good point…david fizdale should have got whatever he would give back
Had the Knicks played him more he would have had more value, and they would have been able to get something out of him. It’s their own fault this is how it ended.
That’s the Philly Jah/Nerlens argument brought against Colangelo. But centers are getting pinched for time around the league. Teams say “yeah, yeah, I’ve seen that before, We’re doing something different now”.
Celtics, get him before the Kings do. You know you need his rebounding !
Definitely but just saw a report that the Celtics aren’t in on Kanter so I have no idea what Ainge is thinking now that he has an open roster spot.
“Opposing executives believe the Boston Celtics will be among the teams with interest in Enes Kanter if/when the Knicks big man parts ways with NYK.“ 1:13PM February 7, 2019
(link to twitter.com)
Source: Ian Begley of ESPN
Alm every Kanter report mentioning Boston today, quoted Ian lol. What was your “report”?
It’s actually in another article on this site:
The Celtics do not have an immediate target to fill their open roster spot, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald tweets. Enes Kanter, expected to be bought out by the Knicks as early as today, isn’t on their radar screen, Murphy adds.
all speculation by the media.
It’s just fashionable to rip the Knicks. They did him a favor because he really was a good guy and liked New York. Can go to a winner now. Perry and Fizdale are doing what the fans were crying for them to do. Tank. Get over it.
Heard Lakers have deal w him that’s why they traded zubac
I thought he hated LeBron
LeBron isn’t the enemy anymore. He plays for a fringe playoff team with a bunch of kids, anyone hating on him is crazy.
Knicks got sick of their fans chanting for Kanter to play.
Turkey doesn’t want him; Kentucky, the Jazz, Thunder and now the Knicks. I guess a cupcake is better than being unwanted.
I don’t pay that close attention to Kanter all that much, but why is he considered a defensive liability? What is he doing so poorly. Curious.
While irrelevant to his benching, the truth is he’s not any kind of unique defensive liability. He’s bad, but no different than a lot of other C’s who have trouble defending in smaller or stretch lineups. Few of them are as dominant in the post or on the boards.
If he were so bad, then the Knick defense would have improved since he’s essentially not been playing, right? It’s actually gotten worse. He’s being vilified by Knick management because they’re an insecure bunch of amateurs who can’t just make a decision and be judged by it. They have to pretend they had no choice, so you can’t blame them when it doesn’t work out.
Do you really think Sam Presti (who routinely puts together one of the top defensive teams in the league year after year) would have maxed him out if he was some kind of unique defensive liability?
Greg Monroe = Enes Kanter. Both got overpaid, both become journeymen, both waived again.
Very similar. Both great combinations of power and skill. But not mobile. Both low post players, who can also pass, but not shoot, from the perimeter. Each was maxed at a point not so long ago, and neither was really controversial at the time.
But Kanter, who’s younger, isn’t destined for non-rotation journeyman status quite yet. His numbers had been trending up since he got to OKC (as a very young raw player) through last year, and he put some separation between him and guys like Monroe as his FG% reached just shy of 60%, and his FT% 85%, and his rebounding went to elite levels, at 25 years old. He needs a reset, but I don’t think he floats around the league like Monroe has just yet.
I watch and have been watching. Guards drive and score on Kanter at will. Stretch fours light him up on the perimeter. Kanter can only guard old school traditional centers, but those don’t exist anymore. Yea he is a rebound magnet, but it doesn’t matter when opposing players take advantage of Kanter and score at will. Granted if the Knicks had more guards that could truly guard their man, Kanters defense wouldn’t be all that bad. But they don’t. And Kanter is not and will not be a rim protector.
Trump will deport him. He ded af
I can see him as a fit in Houston, especially while Capela is out. Considering the manimal is succeeding there I would think Kanter would have no problem doing the same. He can be a double-double threat in limited mins.