Knicks center Enes Kanter, putting aside his mounting issues with his homeland of Turkey, admits he’s starting to change his tune on his future in New York after a heart-to-heart with coach David Fizdale.
Fizdale said before the Knicks’ 127-109 blowout loss to the Thunder on Martin Luther King Day that his priority for the rest of the season is to play his two young centers, Luke Kornet and Mitchell Robinson, and Kanter’s minutes will be hard to come by.
After the loss, Kanter said his talk Sunday with Fizdale made him “sad,” though things could change if Kornet’s left ankle injury is as serious as it sounds. Kanter came into Monday’s game with 7:22 left in the second quarter but only after Kornet got hurt and the Knicks were down 21 points. Kanter, who finished with 11 points in 19 minutes, had prepared not to play Monday after hearing Fizdale’s sentiments.
X-rays were inconclusive, and Kornet will undergo an MRI exam to see if there is any further ligament damage.
Kanter, who received a strong ovation when he checked into the contest Monday, said during the West Coast trip in early January he wouldn’t ask general manager Scott Perry for a trade. Now, Kanter has a new viewpoint, and despite commending the Garden faithful for giving him cheers, he is wondering whether he wants to stay with the Knicks the rest of the season.
“I was very disappointed,” Kanter said of his meeting with Fizdale. “There was nothing to be happy about. Everybody knows I love it here, man. I just saw one more time tonight when I went out there [to cheers]. It’s like my home. I love it here, but in the end, I want to play basketball. I miss playing basketball, man. And I would let Scott [Perry] and my agent handle that stuff.
“We had the conversation [Sunday], and they were kind of like, shutting me down. So I’m like, I want to play basketball. I love it here. I love New York. I love the fans, but in the end, I want to play basketball.”
The Kings were in town playing the Nets on Monday, and Sacramento has talked to the Knicks about a trade, but everything will depend on a third team. There are reports Sacramento wants more than Kanter in the deal.
Is Kanter paying attention to the Sacramento roster?
“I know everybody’s roster,” Kanter said. “Like I said, I love it here, but I want to play basketball.”
If the Knicks can’t trade him, it’s possible they could buy out Kanter, who is making $18.6 million this year.
Kanter, whom the Knicks consider less than a defensive stopper, can’t understand why he’s not part of the youth movement at age 26. Kornet, 23, is in his second season, and Robinson is a raw, 20-year-old rookie.
“I was sad, I was down [after the meeting],” Kanter said. “We’re competitors, and I want to go out there and play basketball, and I understand now the situation with the Knicks. It’s tough because they’re trying to give the young guys a lot of minutes and get them better, but it’s not like I’m 32, 33 years old. I’m 26 years old, and I want to go out there and compete and play basketball.”
In London, Fizdale said he would meet with Kanter to make sure he’s OK after the report Turkey was attempting to extradite him as a terrorist. But the conference turned to Kanter’s reduced role now that Robinson is healthy.
“I checked on him personally,” Fizdale said, “to make sure he was OK and how he was feeling. All this stuff that was on top of him. Then I had an open conversation about having three centers now and where we are from a team standpoint with 10 wins. At this point of the season, with two young, talented 5s, I’m going to try my best to share the minutes, but I have a priority to play those players.”
Kanter went into the contest thinking it would be the first time he did not play as a Knick.
“I actually got my cardio in before the game,” Kanter said. “I was on a treadmill, running around like 10 minutes. So in my head, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to play this game’ because that’s what basically he said [Sunday]. But then Luke got hurt and I was just in. It was good to play against my former team.”
It’s hardly Kanter’s only worry. Kanter skipped the team’s trip to London, fearing he’d be either arrested by Turkish authorities or assassinated by spies. He still fears for himself in the U.S. after lashing out at the Turkish government and president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Anything can happen, anytime, anywhere, because of they’ve got a lot of crazy Erdogan supporters out there,” Kanter said. “Whenever I go, even when I go grocery shopping, even when I go to practice, I always have someone with me. The only place I go alone is the bathroom. Anywhere else, I always have someone with me. If you’re standing up for something, it definitely comes with it.”