Is Enes Kanter available from UTAH?

[Jamaaliver]

Just reading the tea leaves from around the league:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Tjonessltrib/status/474611355652067328[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Tjonessltrib/status/474611575593000960[/tweet]

If Utah indeed takes vonleh at #5, their front court will again be over stuffed with lottery talent. if Noah and D Favors are seen as the starters for the future, should we make a move for Kanter?

Previous GM Rick Sund was high on Kanter a few seasons back and actually attempted to trade Josh Smith to Minnesota for the chance to draft him.

At 6'11" and 260 pounds, could this guy be the Center of the future for Atlanta?
Do we even have the ammo to go after this guy?

[Jamaaliver]

Admittedly, I've seen very little of the guy since he was drafted. I just know that he was very highly rated coming into the draft. NBADRAFT.net actually compares him favorably to AL Horford, ironically enough.

He has a solid post game and steady jump shot. we need to shore up the front court with Millsap and Horford approaching 30. And Paul approaching Free Agency next summer.

Kanter is still just 22, with plenty of time to grow into a top Center. His prooduction last year was solid at 12 ppg and 8 rpg in only 26 minute a night. This translates out to 16/10 when adjusted for 36 minute averages.

But his advanced stats were less than overhwleming. His PER was a modest 15.3. His tS% was only 52% and his eFG% was only 49%.

I still maintain we need a Center to pair with AL. This guy has the size/athleticism to hang with most any Center in the league.

If we're recreating the SPURS, I see Kanter as a Center more talented than Tiago Splitter, who should be able to step in on Day One as a starter. We immediately improve Rebounding, shot blocking, interior defense without busting the bank.

I just can't think of a single tangible asset we have that could get him...our best three trade chips are a PG, PF and undersized Center. Three things Utah has in spades.

[Jamaaliver]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Tjonessltrib/status/474613108057468929[/tweet]

Indeed., it does...

[theatlfan]

The UTH GM came out and publicly said that he thought that Kanter and Favors could indeed play together. Sorry, I'm too lazy to find a link right now, but this was within the last week or two. It's definitely possible that he's just grandstanding though.

In this vein, the Jazz have also been linked to Payne, and at 15 and right in front of CHI, you'd think we'd be in a good position to secure him. I could see us putting something like 15+another piece on the table for Kanter, but I'd have no idea if that's enough. A large part of the answer to the question would be what would they like with the "+" and who do they land at #5 - if it's Vonleh, then idk if they're game anymore.

[theatlfan]

Sorry, it appears that I got crossed up in the posts.

Personally, I would like to take my chances on Kanter. Coming into the season, I had very high hopes for him. In limited PT, he posted a 17/10 per-36 and showed some room for growth - specifically with defensive rebounds and TOV%. This year though, Favors took the extra PT that UTH had after letting both Big Al and Millsap walk and stepped into a "young Dwight" role, while Kanter took a step back in just about every conceivable category. This is a whole bunch of writers who have stories questioning whether Kanter's fall comes from the pairing with Favors (hence, my comment in the earlier post).

Still, I could see him developing into a nice C option. On O, he can bully in the post or step out and hit a midrange jumper; on defense, the scouting report is that he's a decent enough post defender who isn't much with help. As you mention, he's barely into his 20's and can no doubt improve.

The big question here is what would it take to pry him off. UTH isn't a team that seems interested in acquiring vets - the GM has stated that he doesn't want to take short cuts with a rebuilding plan. I don't think 15 this year is enough even if the player they really want is on the board. With their hiring of Snyder, we could have some undercard talent that intrigues them, but the problem here is that Shelvin Mack and Mike Scott are RFAs so you can't really combine them with the draft pick and I'm not sure that either or both is enough to pry Kanter off.

[azuresou1]

Kanter's really bad on defense. If we're looking at poor defensive C's, I'd rather grab Monroe over him.

[MaceCase]

Until his cost becomes prohibitive I don't think they'd mind keeping him in the bench rotation. If Vonleh comes along quickly they may decide to explore getting a pick for him but he hasn't exactly had a productive career for them to fear some team inflating his salary when he hits free agency even if starts to clamor for a starting position.

[Yungsta404]

I remember seeing him on shaqtin a fool alot this year

[Jamaaliver]

Kanter's really bad on defense. If we're looking at poor defensive C's, I'd rather grab Monroe over him.

Fair enough. Though, is this taking into account the massive difference in expected earnings down the line. If they both produce similar numbers, but Kanter comes at half the cost (with Monroe expected to draw near max salary) would we still bypass Enes at $6-8 million?

[azuresou1]

Kanter's gonna be a RFA in his own right in 2015-2016 (one season past Monroe), and I'd expect that he's going to get paid as well. All young big men get paid.

FWIW though I think Horford/Monroe is a lateral move, while I think Horford/Kanter is a downgrade.

[Yungsta404]

Kanter's really bad on defense. If we're looking at poor defensive C's, I'd rather grab Monroe over him.

Fair enough. Though, is this taking into account the massive difference in expected earnings down the line. If they both produce similar numbers, but Kanter comes at half the cost (with Monroe expected to draw near max salary) would we still bypass Enes at $6-8 million?

I dont think any team would including Utah. At 6-8 mil I say Utah will match that easily. Even if he isnt in the future plans he can be used as a trading asset at that price.

[HMFFL]

Kanter's really bad on defense. If we're looking at poor defensive C's, I'd rather grab Monroe over him.

I agree.
BUT, overpay for Monroe?