After losing both LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez in free agency, the Portland Trail Blazers are making moves to shore up a now razor-thin frontcourt.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported on Thursday that the Blazers have signed restricted free agent Enes Kanter to a max offer sheet. The deal is said to be for four years and $70 million. It also reportedly includes a player option for the fourth year as well as a 15 percent trade kicker.
Kanter, 23, averaged 18.7 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game on 56.6 percent shooting for the Oklahoma City Thunder last season. He was acquired from the Utah Jazz at the 2014-15 trade deadline.
The Turkish big man was the third overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He is a skilled low-post scorer with a versatile back-to-the-basket game as well as a reliable 18-footer. He is also an impact rebounder, especially on the offensive glass, where he found a niche last season for cleaning up Russell Westbrook’s reckless rim assaults.
However, Kanter is widely seen as one of the worst defensive players in the entire league. An absolute sieve on that end, Kanter is mercilessly attacked and exploited by opponents in the pick-and-roll. He allowed a pathetic 56.9 opposing field goal percentage on shots at the rim last season (third-worst in the league amongst big men who defended at least five attempts per game). At 6-foot-11, 245 pounds, Kanter also clocks in as a bit undersized, and the argument is often made that he accumulates empty stats.
Worst Defensive BPM by players 6'11" or taller (min. 5K minutes) since '73-74 #70million : http://t.co/CEaak4p5UF pic.twitter.com/WfKW2Rg3rn
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) July 9, 2015
Nevertheless, Kanter proved highly valuable for a Thunder team last year that has historically lacked a formidable low-post threat. He is also the perfect big man to play next to Serge Ibaka. Ibaka’s three-point shooting and elite rim protection covers for Kanter’s deficiencies in those areas. Meanwhile, Kanter’s post-up game and high rebounding totals compensate for Ibaka’s weaknesses in those areas. The Thunder are expected to match the offer sheet as they very well should.
As for the Blazers, they continue to prioritize size in their efforts to pick up the pieces from an offseason that has already seen them lose five of their six core players from last season. After picking up Mason Plumlee in a trade with the Nets and signing Ed Davis to a 3-year, $20 million deal, now Portland’s sights are set on Kanter.
The Kentucky product could prove a viable fit next to the rugged defense/rebounding mentality of Davis, but Kanter as a $70 million man would be much more cost-effective for the Thunder than for the Blazers. Kanter grades out as a solid complementary player at this point in his career, but he’s still a massive project for a team like Portland, who would want to develop him into a legitimate secondary piece as a part of their new youth movement.
Additionally, Kanter might not be the right pick-and-roll partner for Damian Lillard. He scraped the bottom of the barrel in terms of efficiency as the PnR finisher last season, posting lousy numbers of 41.4 percent field goals and 0.83 points per possession (20th percentile). It doesn’t help either that Kanter is quickly becoming one of the more unlikable guys in the NBA.
The Thunder have three days to match the offer sheet for Kanter.
Image via Thunder Raw/YouTube
*All stats courtesy of NBA.com*
