For all the talk of LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love in the hours leading up to free agency’s opening bell, all but two teams are going to come up empty-handed in their pursuit of the best offensive big men on the market. (Stop asking Marc Gasol, he’s not going anywhere.) For all of those teams, options still remain, but if the Oklahoma City Thunder get their way, Enes Kanter won’t be one of them.
Shams Charania at RealGM is reporting that the Thunder will be meeting Kanter in Chicago soon after free agency opens on July 1, with the goal of quickly nailing down a three- or four-year deal for Kanter, who can play both power forward and center positions.
Even though Kanter was productive last season after coming over from Utah at the trade deadline, one can see why he’d want to lock down a deal to stay with the Thunder. They have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for at least one more year, with a decent shot to keep them both. Kanter’s offensively gifted enough not to need two of the best scorers in the NBA to create space for him, but position in the post will be a lot easier with KD sniping from outside and Russ snaking through the perimeter defense. Serge Ibaka’s still around as well, and his defensive prowess will cover up for a lot of Kanter’s shortcomings, which are all on the defensive end.
Charania goes on to say that other teams (like the Mavericks and Bucks) have interest in Kanter, which should be obvious — he’d be an asset for most rosters. But there’s a reason the rumor mill hasn’t been very hot around Kanter, and the news of these early good-faith negotations confirms it. Kanter isn’t likely to go anywhere but back to OKC.
(Via RealGM)
