Seen as somewhat of a steal signing for the Boston Celtics last offseason, Ennes Kanter has struggled to convince the franchise he is a longterm fit. If he winds up turning down his player option, where might the veteran big’s best fit be?
When the Boston Celtics inked Enes Kanter to a 2-year, $10 million (second year player option) deal last offseason, we here at HH viewed the signing as a relative steal.
Since coming into the league back in 2011, the Turkish native has made a name for himself and an offensively gifted, glass gobbling big who bleeds whatever color his respective team dons. Boasting career averages of 11.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and half a block per game on 54 percent shooting from the field, the idea was Kanter would fill the hole in the starting rotation that once belonged to Al Horford.
For me personally, I loved this signing because, well, I’ve loved Kanter since he was drafted third overall out of Kentucky. His glass crashing ability is simply envious, his footwork has proven to be a thing of absolute beauty. With the C’s need for big man help, a player such as Enes Kanter — on a $5 million a year salary at that — looked to be a great addition for this playoff contending team.
Unfortunately, however, the hype surrounding the big didn’t wind up lasting for too long as, come opening day, the 27 year old found himself serving as a primary backup to the team’s eventual starting center, Daniel Theis. Now, through 51 games played, Kanter is averaging 8.2 points and 7.7 rebounds on 57 percent shooting from the floor.
Look, by no means are we saying Kanter is not a good or serviceable player for a team — far from it. However, his fit with the Boston Celtics may be a bit suspect.
If he were to believe his tenure in Beantown should come to an end, and opt out of his player option this offseason, he would become an unrestricted free agent capable of signing with whatever organization his burly heart desires.
With this in mind, if this were to happen, here are the 3 best landing spots for the powerful power forward.