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With the free-agency market shriveling up, teams with excess cap space are starting to get antsy.
One such team is the Portland Trail Blazers, who signed restricted free agent center Enes Kanter to a five-year, $70-million offer sheet Thursday, reports Adrian Wojnarwoski of Yahoo Sports. The deal will also include a 15-percent trade kicker.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, who have Kanter's rights, have until Sunday to match the offer, and general manager Sam Presti said he intends to do so.
Was able to catch up with Sam Presti. His comment on the reported Enes Kanter offer sheet: pic.twitter.com/bNjcjKGoJh
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 9, 2015
There are two ways to look at Kanter's production.
On one hand, Kanter is a fantastic low-post scorer, something the Trail Blazers and Thunder both lack. The 7-footer boasts a career shooting percentage of 65.2 percent from within three feet of the basket, and can finish with both hands. He can also reliably hit the midrange jumper and has even toyed with learning the 3-point shot.
After being traded to Oklahoma City, Kanter was paired with a top point guard for the first time in his career. With Russell Westbrook feeding him passes in pick-and-rolls, Kanter's numbers skyrocketed to 18.7 points and 11 rebounds per game on a true-shooting percentage of 61.1 percent. He finally made good on the promise that he held as the third pick of the 2011 draft, flashing signs of becoming an elite offensive center.
On the other hand, Kanter is a historically awful defender for his position. His career defensive box plus-minus is -1.9, which is the worst figure since 1973-74. He grades out worse than players like Eddy Curry and Andrea Bargnani.
Kanter's woes continued with the Thunder, despite him having an ideal frontcourt partner in Serge Ibaka to help on defense. The Thunder were 7.8 points per 100 possessions worse with Kanter on the court, and he allowed the highest opponent field-goal percentage at the rim last season.
Still, the more interesting note with Kanter is his questionable fit with either club.
The Thunder could use his low-post scoring, but matching Kanter would mean venturing into the luxury tax. The Thunder famously eschewed the tax back in 2012, opting instead to trade away James Harden for scrap parts. But now, with Kevin Durant on the verge of free agency, the team needs to pull out all the stops to convince Durant to stay, and, should he leave, Kanter gives them a young piece to build around.
For the Blazers, it's unclear how Kanter would fit their crowded frontcourt rotation. The Blazers lost LaMarcus Aldridge to the San Antonio Spurs, but added Noah Vonleh, Mason Plumlee, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Ed Davis to a core that already included emerging big man Meyers Leonard.
