The New York Knicks are currently 4-12, and the frustration seems to be building amongst the veterans, especially Enes Kanter. Since he was traded to the Knicks from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kanter has been a productive player and began the season as the starter at center.
However, the Knicks have now opted to focus on the development of younger players like Mitchell Robinson, and this has affected the minutes allocation for Kanter, which has added to the veteran's frustrations.
Marc Berman of the New York Post details some of the signs that Kanter is quite close to his tipping point:
Hence, this 4-12 record is not an easy experience for Kanter, who talked about making the playoffs as recently as 10 days ago.
Kanter’s latest tweet was a series of period marks. It’s his third cryptic tweet. The first two contained just one period mark.
“It’s only going to grow bigger,” Kanter said in refusing to explain what it means …
When asked if it’s tough to sit on the bench late in close games, Kanter said: “Next question, please. Next question, please.”
When asked how he handles Fizdale’s mantra about development coming first while he’s playing for a contract, Kanter laughed.
“Next question, please,” he said. “You already know these answers. I don’t know why you’re asking me.”
Head coach David Fizdale made it known that he understands where the frustration might come from, but he remains firm that his focus moving forward is player development:
“I try to balance it,” Fizdale said. “That’s the tough decisions you got to make. But we know ultimately this season’s biggest, most important thing we do is development. You can’t put anything above that. I do try to respect all of the guys and the situation that they’re in, but our No. 1 priority, I can’t put anything above it, is our player development.”
You can understand where Kanter is coming from, especially for a guy like him who is playing for a contract. Nevertheless, player development should continue to be the focus for the Knicks since they will remain a bottom-dwelling team in the East without star Kristaps Porzingis,
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