Enes Kanter constantly shows his love for the Thunder and Oklahoma City in his tweets, but that love might be coming to an end.
Kanter is now expendable for the Thunder since they acquired Joffrey Lauvergne. Along with being expendable for the team Kanter, is OKC's best trade asset.
Kanter has a talent that is not seen much in today's NBA: a great offensive game in the post. When at his best, Kanter has the potential to put up a double-double every game.
He also has the ability to spread the floor. Last season, Kanter shoot 47-percent from downtown. Obviously that number would go down if he has more attempts, but the ability to hit the three is still there.
Why Enes Kanter doesn't fit anymore
The problem with Kanter staying in OKC is the position he plays. Kanter can be either a power forward or center, and right now the Thunder are loaded at those positions.
Earlier in the offseason the Thunder traded for Domantas Sabonis and now with Lauvergne the Thunder have two players that have the same talents as Kanter. All three of those players have an offensive game and a good passing ability. However, Sabonis and Lauvergne have not proven themselves, which makes it harder for OKC to trade them. In Kanter, NBA teams will know what they are getting.
When reporting on the chances of the Thunder trading Kanter, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman believes the team will go after a small forward:
“I have no insight on who the Thunder could be targeting. Small forward is a loaded position in the NBA – Durant, LeBron, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George. OKC can’t find a player on that level.
But could the Thunder work a deal for someone in the Tobias Harris/Jae Crowder/Chandler Parsons/Rudy Gay/Luol Deng/Otto Porter Jr. /Trevor Ariza family of small forwards?”
Exploring a Kanter trade
Small forward is the position that the Thunder need to improve the most, so it makes sense for the team. General manager Sam Presti, never one to get a one hit wonder, would likely be looking for a SF that is on a longer deal.
Porter Jr. would be an interesting piece for the Thunder to explore. The team would be reuniting Scott Brooks and Enes Kanter, while getting future restricted free agent Porter Jr.
Ones Kanter has been fun to watch with OKC, he is grown on and off the court. While he is the ability to produce great numbers he just is not the right guy at the right time for the team. No matter what happens moving forward the chances that the Thunder are done putting their team together is slim to none.
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