Portland adds Kanter

According to multiple reports, Turkish big man Enes Kanter will sign with the Portland Trailblazers.

Previously, Enes Kanter had been part of the deal package that sent small forward Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kanter to the New York Knicks.

Prior to landing in New York, Kanter had been on the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kanter had played a season and a half with the Knicks before falling out of head coach David Fizdale’s roster to other big men in Mitchell Robinson, DeAndre Jordan and Luke Kornet.

Multiple times, Kanter had publically voiced his frustration with his lack of playing time. One time, he even kissed the logo after being checkwd into the game as it had been so long.

The turning point for Kanter was when Fizdale told him that newly acquired DeAndre Jordan would receive more playing time. After a short point in which Kanters frustration was at his highest, he agreed to part ways with the Knicks on a buyout deal after they failed to find a trade partner for the big man.

Within the week, Enes Kanter was signed by the Portland Trailblazers to play alongside Jusuf Nurkic. Kanter is an important addition for the Blazers as they prepare for the post-season tournament.

This isn’t the first time Portland has shown interest in Enes, offering him a $70 m deal in 2015, which OKC promptly matched.

Per sources, Blazers had to fight in a tough crowd to add Kanter to their rankings, with teams such as the Lakers reportedly interested in the big man.