Enes Kanter has been vocal about his love for New York City and playing for the Knicks. The team is weeks away from concluding another dismal season without a playoff appearance but Kanter does not want the team to sacrifice wins in favor of auditioning young talent.
Kanter spoke to reporters, including ESPN’s Ian Begley, after practice on Friday and said the team needs to focus on winning games.
“Let me tell you something, man: They can develop guys in the G League. This is not the time to develop young guys, or whatever, because we’re trying to win games here,” Kanter said. “This team is paying us a lot of money, everybody, and all the fans are paying a lot money to watch the games and they’re paying a lot of money for tickets, so they’re not just coming here watching, ‘Oh, this guy’s getting better. This guy’s developing.’ No, we’re trying to win games here, man.”
Kanter can become a free agent at the end of the season, but has stressed that he wants to remain with the Knicks.
Check out more news coming out of the Big Apple:
- There are 13 games left this season for the Knicks and they could be the final games the team plays with Jeff Hornacek as head coach. Hornacek, who is under contract for next season, indicated that he will meet with management after the season to discuss the future, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. “At the end of the season I’m sure we’ll sit down with (president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry) and figure out what we’re doing,” Hornacek said. “As a coach you’d like to know if you’re going to be here next year. But our job right now is take the guys that we have on this team and try to get them better.”
- The Nets‘ D’Angelo Russell/Spencer Dinwiddie backcourt combo seems to be a thing of the past, as Dinwiddie will be on the bench for Friday’s contest against the Sixers. Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily writes that Dinwiddie’s recent struggles have forced the 2018 Skills Challenge winner to the bench. “Man, look. I’ve just got to do better, man,” Dinwiddie said. “When we lost games this year, I lost my defensive match-ups or haven’t played enough offensively or something else. For us to win games I’ve got to do better. Like right now, we’re struggling, and the drives and the aggressiveness are one of the reasons, so I’ve got to do better.”
- Bobby Marks of ESPN Insider (subscription required and recommended) examines the Nets‘ possible offseason strategy which could include offloading Jeremy Lin, exploring an extension with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and being conservative with cap space.
Kanter has a player option for next year at 18.6M (if I remember correctly), he could be a free agent if he wants but chances are high that he opts in.
He’d be silly not to with the limited cap available for most teams and FA’s available. Getting $18M or more, plus years would be difficult for him. As a Knicks fan, while he’s played well, I wouldn’t mind seeing him opt out to free up some cap room.