New York Knicks center Enes Kanter was left feeling "sad" after a sitdown with head coach David Fizdale on Sunday.
Kanter was told that the Knicks' priority is to play their young centers - Luke Kornet and Mitchell Robinson - down the stretch and that minutes will be hard to come by, according to the New York Post's Marc Berman.
Earlier in January, Kanter denied requesting a trade, despite a reduced role. But he seems to have had a change of heart following his meeting with Fizdale.
"I was very disappointed," Kanter told reporters, including Berman. "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 (Knicks general manager) Scott (Perry) and my agent handle that stuff."
"We had the conversation (Sunday), and they were kind of like, shutting me down ... I love New York. I love the fans, but in the end, I want to play basketball."
Kanter has been linked to several suitors, including the Sacramento Kings in a potential swap for Zach Randolph. But he doesn't understand why the Knicks don't view him as a potential building block.
"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."
Kanter is averaging 14.4 points and 11.0 boards per contest in 41 games played. He was a healthy DNP-CD for the past three games before scoring 11 points in 19 minutes after Kornet left Monday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with an injury.