Jazz center Enes Kanter has asked the team to trade him, according to separate reports from Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Kanter expressed this desire to both outlets following the Jazz's 87-82 road loss to the Timberwolves Wednesday, a game in which Kanter was forced out of with an eye injury. Kanter was kept on the bench for the entire fourth quarter, but told reporters afterwards that he was healthy enough to play.
NBA trade rumors 2015 roundup: Enes Kanter wants to be traded
The third-year big has requested a deal, plus the latest on Goran Dragic, Arron Afflalo and Amar’e Stoudemire.
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“It was not my eye at all. I don’t know what it was, but it was not my eye at all. So we’ll see what’s going to happen,” he reportedly said.
Kanter, the third-overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, has been productive this year, averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game. But he's playing just 27 minutes per contest and at times has found himself buried in the rotation behind Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Trevor Booker. That, according to Falk, is what has led to the trade request.
But for the third-overall pick in the 2011 draft, the frustrations are about more than one night. Kanter grew tired of empty promises of playing time during his time under Tyrone Corbin and remains frustrated by the inconsistency of his role.
According to Genessy, none of this is new, or surprising to the Jazz.
Kanter’s agent, fellow Turk Max Ergul, has been trying to get the 6-foot-11 big man traded from Utah for years, according to a source with knowledge on the subject.
Kanter’s camp has “really turned up the heat” on Jazz management for a trade in recent weeks, the source added.
Not surprisingly, Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey responded with a “No comment.”
Kanter is a player who would garner interest around the league, but he’s a restricted free agent after this season. That means anyone trading for 22-year-old big man will only be getting a rental. Also, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe points out, dealing with Kanter’s reps is apparently not very fun.
SLC Dunk is baffled by the timing of Kanter’s demand:
Interesting that he feels that way about this season. He's fourth on the team in minutes and just 100 minutes or so behind Derrick Favors. Is he feeling pressured by Rudy Gobert's emergence? I don't get why he feels his role is inconsistent.
Interesting timing by Kanter's agent. No doubt the Jazz have had discussions with other teams about Kanter, so why leak this information now? It does nothing to help their case. It might not end up hurting things in the long run, but it certainly doesn't help.
Suns want first-round pick for Goran Dragic?
First, the background here. The Suns have three point guards. Two of them (Eric Bledsoe, Isaiah Thomas) signed new, multi-year deals in the offseason. The other, Goran Dragic, could be a free agent after this season. Which leads us to:
Hearing Suns want a first-rounder for Goran Dragic and, rest assured, they'll get it. Rockets got to be tempted.
— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) February 12, 2015 Dragic is averaging 16 points and four assists per game. He’s been good, but not as dominant as he was last year when the ball was in his hands all the time. His Player Efficiency Rating has dropped from 21.4 to 16.6.
The Suns are currently in eighth place in the Western Conference, with a half-game lead over the Thunder and a one-and-a-half game lead over the Pelicans. If the plan is to let Dragic walk in the offseason, trading him now may be the smart move. Getting a contender to surrender a first-round pick for him should not be too difficult.
But as Bright Side of the Sun points out, dealing Dragic specifically would not be a good look for the Suns.
And then I try to reward them for their efforts at some point, rather than shipping them off in order to keep the guys who didn’t play along as well.To me, that’s Hornacek admitting that Dragic has made sacrifices while the other two haven’t been as sacrificial. If I’m the Suns, I give Dragic credit for that. A lot of credit. And if I’m building a team for the future, I want people on the team who are willing to make sacrifices when asked.
And then I try to reward them for their efforts at some point, rather than shipping them off in order to keep the guys who didn’t play along as well.
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Everyone's interested in Arron Afflalo
The Nuggets are sinking fast and have a bunch of players (Afflalo, Wilson Chandler) that could help contending teams. The Blazers, Bulls, Clippers, Heat and Kings have all asked about Afflalo, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. Teams have been put off by the Nuggets' high asking price, according to Shelburne, but we're still a week away from the deadline.
Afflalo, 29, is averaging 15 points and three rebounds in 33 minutes per game. He’s only shooting 34 percent from behind the arc, but for his career he’s a 38-percent three-point shooter.
Like Kanter, though, Afflalo could become a free agent this summer. He could certainly help a contender this year, but teams must decide how much they’re willing to give up for a player who may only be in town for a few months.
Amar'e, Knicks talk buyout
Amar’e Stoudemire might have played his last game with the Knicks. Stoudemire acknowledged Wednesday that he’s talking to the team about the possibility of buying out the last part of his $23.4-million deal so that he can pursue a championship elsewhere.
“Obviously playing these 13 years and through the few injuries, Father Time is ticking. So you know that you want to take advantage of good health when you can and try to win a championship when you can,” Stoudemire said, via the New York Daily News.
Agent Happy Walters added this on a SiriusXM talk show:
“I will say that the Knicks have been really great to Amar’e ... and super supportive. And Jim Dolan, the owner, has been really loyal over the years to Amar’e and really great to him,” Walters said on Daily News basketball columnist Frank Isola’s NBA Radio show on SiriusXM. “And so I think Amar’e feels that he has a lot of loyalty to the Knicks and Jim, good days or bad days. He certainly didn’t think his last year would be like it is now where the team is struggling, but I think anything is possible.
“Amar’e and I have talked about what to do and, you know, it is an ongoing discussion and I’ve talked to the Knicks a little bit about it, but we haven’t gotten to anything substantive. And we’ll kind of see how things go. Amar’e wouldn’t do anything unless (Dolan) was cool with it, that’s for sure.”
This is the final season of Stoudemire’s current contract with the Knicks. The 32-year-old forward is averaging 12 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes per game.
Magic shopping Andrew Nicholson
This, via ESPN’s March Stein:
Orlando, I'm told, has made promising young big man Andrew Nicholson available via trade in advance of next week's trade deadline
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 12, 2015 Nicholson, the 19th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, is still just 25. He’s playing just nine minutes per game this season, but has shown promise in the past. He’s 6’9 and 250 pounds, which means he has size to go along with his skillset. For the right price, teams may take a chance on him.
This could also mean that Orlando is planning on re-signing forward Tobias Harris in the offseason.
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