Despite the trusty contributions of Enes Kanter as a member of the New York Knicks, the Turkish big man might end up being the odd man out in The Big Apple, as it appears unlikely that he will be among New York's plans in the offseason.
According to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks, the Knicks could trade him before February's deadline or renounce him in the offseason to maximize their cap space and therefore the chances of acquiring a star-caliber player in the process.
“If the Knicks are going free-agent shopping in July, they will likely do it without Kanter,” wrote Marks. “The impending free agent has a $27.9 million cap hold, and the only clear path for New York to create max room would be to renounce Kanter or let him walk in the summer.
The question leading into the deadline: Will the front office decide to maximize Kanter's trade value now or keep the center as an insurance policy if they miss out on their free-agent targets?”
Kanter still has some good value on the trade market, despite his defensive shortcomings. The big man has been a steady Eddie for this Knicks team, posting averages of 14.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, despite only starting in 16 of 28 games he has played.
The Knicks, however, will likely want liquid assets or a prized draft pick in return, given their desire of freeing up enough cap space to sign two max-level players.
The signing of Kristaps Porzingis to a contract extension is still looming, something that will be weighed according to his progress coming back from an ACL tear early in the year.
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