Enes Kanter Claims Interest From 4-5 Teams

Knicks center Enes Kanter plans to save his opt-out decision for Friday’s deadline, but he tells Marc Berman of The New York Post “there could be four, five teams” ready to contact him if he chooses free agency.

Kanter has three more days to determine whether to give up an $18.6MM salary for next season and try to better that figure on the open market. He put up solid numbers in his first year in New York, averaging a double-double for the second time in his career with 14.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per night. However, there are only a handful of teams with enough cap room to offer him a significant raise, and the demand is uncertain for a traditional center.

“My thing is, if I can, I’d just want to stay with the Knicks,” Kanter said. “I played here last year and I loved it, loved the people here. It’s not just about the money. It’s about the whole organization. But that’s the decision I’m going to make the last day. It’s not 100 percent. I just keeping talking to my agent. There’s a lot of teams out there if I opt out, they’re already interested in me. That’s why I’m taking my time.”

Kanter adds that his interest in remaining with the Knicks increased when David Fizdale was hired as the new head coach. Fizdale held a two-hour meeting with Kanter at the draft combine last month and encouraged him to work on his 3-point shot. Kanter has gotten help from former Knicks developmental coach Chris Brickley and has posted videos of his long-range shot.

“With Coach Fizdale, I want to stay more,’’ Kanter added. “I know his mentality, I know how much freedom he gives to his players. It’s going to help my decision for sure. I think he’s going to change a lot of things. He seems like a relationship with him is like a friendship relationship. It’s not a player-coach relationship. I talked to him for two hours and it gives you so much confidence.’’

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