Boston Celtics: What Will Enes Kanter Give Them?

We are currently approaching the end of July. The Boston Celtics don’t start playing regular season basketball for about three more months. With the dust settling, we examine the newest addition at the center position: Enes Kanter.

A move that the Boston Celtics made that has not been talked about as much as the addition of Kemba Walker or the budding Summer League sensation that is Tacko Fall is the addition of 27-year-old center Enes Kanter.

After losing Al Horford and Aron Baynes, the Celtics looked pretty thin at the center position, which lead Danny Ainge to Enes Kanter. Kanter is a solid offensive player but has bounced around the league quite a bit. He was drafted by the Jazz in 2011 and after three plus seasons, he was traded to OKC. Then, he was traded from OKC to the Knicks, and then from the Knicks to Portland. According to Kanter, Portland only gave him six minutes to accept their offer, which obviously he did not.

At the moment, Kanter will likely be the starting center for game one of the NBA regular season, so what exactly will the Boston Celtics get out of him?

First, as I stated earlier, he is an above average offensive player. He can’t shoot the 3-pointer and therefore can’t really space the floor but that should not be a huge issue considering he will usually be surrounded by shooters. His inside game on the other hand is very polished.

In addition to being an effective inside scorer, he will also crash both the offensive and defensive boards very hard as he has done his whole career, which will be a welcome sight in Boston. Kanter is a walking double-double and if given 25+ minutes a night, which I expect he will be to start the season, he will average at least 10 and 10 on better than 50% shooting.

Another thing I like about Kanter is that he’s an irritant. He can get under the skin of opposing players and will always stand up for his teammates. I view him as one of those guys who you love if he’s on your team, but you hate if he’s on the opposing team. While he was with the Thunder, he got into it with Kevin Durant in defense of Russell Westbrook and while he was with the Knicks, he got into it with Lebron James in defense of Frank Ntilikina.

He likes to ruffle feathers, but as long as he’s on your team, he’s got your back. The Boston Celtics will benefit greatly from a player like that after the season they just had with Kyrie Irving.
So, if he’s a solid offensive threat, a great rebounder and a great locker room guy, why hasn’t he stuck with a team?

The main reason has to be defense. Kanter is simply a major liability on the defensive end of the floor. His defensive rating last season was towards the bottom of the league at 112.6 (for context that was worse than Carmelo Anthony last season). Opposing teams salivate when they see Kanter on defense.

To his credit, his lack of defensive ability is not due to lack of effort. He does give everything he has on defense, he’s just not a good defender. At this point in his career, what you see is what you get. He would constantly get beat in the pick and roll and even if he was getting buckets on offense, he would have to be taken out of the game because the other team was exploiting him on defense.

This team as currently constructed is not as strong defensively as it was a season ago when they finished with a top 10 defense in terms of defensive rating. The difference between Horford and Kanter on defense is monumental and this will be noticeable right away. As a result, the Boston Celtics will likely have to score at a high clip to win games.

Another potential downside depending upon how you feel is that Kanter is very outspoken off the court. He is currently feuding with the President of Turkey, and he has no problem going on television and taking shots at other players like he did recently on Colin Cowherd’s show.

Now me personally, I love when athletes are outspoken and show some personality. I’m of the opinion that outspoken athletes make the game more interesting, but I understand not everybody feels that way, and certainly some organizations do not feel that way. Kanter will speak his mind, but if the team is winning, is it really that big of a deal?

Overall, Kanter should be a decent fit on this team. Fans can expect a hard-nosed player who will always give an A plus effort. His offense will be above average and his defense will be below average, but he will always try to do whatever it takes to win. His teammates and most fans will love him and he should be a stabilizer in a locker room that was very turbulent last season.

Kanter is a solid offensive player and a great teammate, but do not be surprised if at some point during the season, the Celtics try to acquire a more defensive-oriented center and Kanter subsequently loses minutes.