Welcome to Boston Enes Kanter!

[CelticsPride18]

Kanter should work on his 3 point shot. He has a good form and great touch. He sucks as a rim protector. Kanter as a stretch 4 would make a lot of money.

[hickfromfrenchlick]

While I like Kemba, I'm not bullish on the signing at all. Just feels like a reactionary move to Kyrie bolting. We're not any closer to truly contending with these moves. I would of preferred to put more onus on the young guys (and Hayward) to take the next step and THEN go from there with a couple splash moves or NOT, in a perfect world.

We may never see what JB and Tatum truly can be. Oh well at least we're not the Knicks!!

The question is, can Kemba be the PG on a title team? I think the answer is a clear yes.

Just like the answer to whether whoever else we would’ve signed (including Terry) would’ve been a clear no.

If I knew AD wasn’t coming here, I would have been happy to trade Kyrie for Kemba all along.

Newsflash - We're not a title team

Newflash: The world isn't ending in June 2020.

(At least I haven't been asked to pay $1 billion to reserve a seat on the ark.)

He signed a 4-year deal. Year 1, we integrate him. Years 2-4, who knows?

What if we kept Terry? What if we signed Rubio? Yuck. What happens the next time Danny is looking to sign or trade for a superstar? Do you think the target might want to play with Walker over a scrub? I do. He's not a Banana Boat guy, and he may not be conspiring with his buddies, but people know how good he is and would be happy to ride with him.

Did you want to resign Kyrie even after AD went to LA? If the answer is yes, then there's no reason you shouldn't support this signing. It's a minor talent drop-off and probably an overall upgrade in terms of fit.

[ParticleMan]

given who was available for $5m this is the best possible outcome. i dunno how anyone could think otherwise.

yeah, it's not a great situation, with a sieve frontcourt. we are going to be in the bottom half defensively, even tho the effort level will be high.

but offensively kanter is ideal. lots of Orebs and putbacks. abuses smaller guys in the post. can pass. and most importantly, can rebound.

i'm definitely feeling a bit better about our starting 5 now. tatum has to bulk up and hayward has to man up, and we aren't going to be as bad as people think.

[zoyathedestroya]

Should've signed Jordan Bell. Tacko Bell would've been a formidable frontcourt.
Kanter Fall just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[hickfromfrenchlick]

Should've signed Jordan Bell. Tacko Bell would've been a formidable frontcourt.
Kanter Fall just doesn't have the same ring to it.

All Sox fans remember this:

[BRUNiNHO91]

According to the below advanced stats:
- Kanter is a poor defensive player. He fouls a lot and doesn't block shots as often as his peers. He allows people to score on him.
- Kanter is an excellent inside scorer. With minutes, he would be able to keep up with the likes of nearly any scoring center in the league.
- Kanter is an exceptional rebounder. He is a better rebounder than most of the list. He's equal to Capela and slightly worse than Jordan.
- Al Horford was an AWFUL rebounder. Wow.
- Marc Gasol and Robin Lopez are borderline useless at this point.
- D Jordan is a damn good center. Too bad he can't stay on the court at the end of close games.
- Embiid is a great individual scorer but he doesn't have as big an impact on his team's offense as some others while he's in the game.

Long story short - if our perimeter guys get beat, we're screwed.

Past 2 seasons averaged:

Per 100 Posessions Reb % STL BLK PTS FOUL REB OFF RATING DEF RATING
Kanter 21% 1 0.8 27.2 5.06 19.3 119 111
Capela 22% 1.2 2.8 24.5 4.1 18.95 129.5 104.5
R Lopez 10% 0.4 2.0 21.5 3.4 8.5 109.5 114.5
Embiid 20% 1 2.8 37.1 5 18.25 110 102
M Turner 13% 1.2 3.9 22.6 4.8 11.85 110 104
A Horford 13% 1.2 1.9 21.2 3.1 11.4 119 105
M Gasol 14% 1.5 1.9 24 4.7 12.6 106 107
Nurkic 19% 1.6 2.6 27.3 6.1 17.3 104 103
D Jordan 25% 0.9 1.6 18.3 4.1 22.4 124 106

Edit - sorry for how crappy the above formatted.

A lot of big contract guys on that list. Dude is the cheapest one and is better than quite a few of them in quite a few important categories. This was a very, very good signing. Curious to see how Brad can maximize his strenghts and minimize his defensive issues.

[yazfan]

Unsure what his relationship with Hayward is.. Do they like each other etc?

1 thing for sure, game at Utah will be fun.

Hayward - #1 hated player by Jazz fans.
Kanter - 2nd most hated player by Jazz fans.

btw - Jazz fans are a$$holes the way they treat Hayward to this day

[GrandTheftRondo]

You may want to close your eyes for this one:

In defensive RPM, Kanter ranked 70th among 71 centers last season. 52nd among 59 centers in 2017-18, and 49th among 51 centers in 2016-17.

We'll just have to take the good with the bad. Find a way to mitigate his weaknesses through scheming and surrounding personnel.

We are going to be terrible defensively.

Won’t surprise me if he’s riding the bench by the end of the season.

Awful signing.

[GrandTheftRondo]

Kemba/Jaylen/Hayward/Tatum/Kanter is a hell of a starting 5. This offseason has been an A+ so far, especially from the tail spin we first appeared to be in.

I’ll have some of what you’re smoking thanks

[sam_I_am]

My take on Kanter....

1. He was starting center on a team that knocked out #3 MVP candidate Paul George and he made a difference
2. He sucks defensively but without him we expected to get destroyed defensively
3. If we win this year it will be by scoring 125 ppg. Kanter will significantly increase our offensive possessions with his offensive rebound
4. If our perimeter defenders force up a bad shot, at least he will secure the rebound
5. When scraping the bottom of the barrel, you can do worse....but I wish Baynes has opted out so he could have resigned
6. He wants to be a Celtic so I will embrace him warts and all. Screw Kyrie.

[tfmiii]

I wish to bestow the following GIF to the Celtics' forum Moderators to decide who should have the honor of using it for her/his avatar this coming season. (This one, coincidentally, changes to a green hue.) I alone used it for 2 years on the Knicks' forum and it is of great personal meaning to me.

Good luck and God speed!

Spoiler:

Love the banner!

[CharlesBradleyLikesToDunk]

Welp he’s got warts but I think most bigs in this dollar range do, either that or they don’t do anything particularly well. Kanter can do two things particularly well: score and rebound. And he’s got size which we need. I hope Stevens coaches him up a little bit defensively.

There were only a couple of other guys in Kanter’s dollar range like Davis or Gibson that I would have been just as satisfied with. Don’t know how he will work out, but he can help us a quite a bit I think.

No idea what other moves we will make (or will
be able to make) — would be okay if Theis comes back and/or we add either a sturdy big for defense or one with a little shooting range for offense. I hope Timelord really is ready for some minutes — he could give us something we really lack with his size/athleticism combo if that’s the case. He just needs to get it.

[celticfan42487]

Unsure what his relationship with Hayward is.. Do they like each other etc?

1 thing for sure, game at Utah will be fun.

Hayward - #1 hated player by Jazz fans.
Kanter - 2nd most hated player by Jazz fans.

btw - Jazz fans are a$$holes the way they treat Hayward to this day

eh idk dude their main all-star and homegrown player left them in free agency.

They are free to hate if they want.

Who knows if Hayward stayed they might have been the one to knock off the Warriors one of these seasons. And hell this season they might have a lineup of

Conely
Mitchell
Healthy Hayward
who cares
Gortat

Let them be. Not everyone has to a Boy Scout.

[oldshoolballer]

Not bad at all for 5 million a year Kanter is a rebounding machine Gonna get you a lot of second shots extremely efficient around the rim career 54%, no 3pt shot and poor defender overall, not a rim protector, sets good screens and rolls well. I don't like him as your starter but is good for bench role.

[soxfan2003]

My take on Kanter....

1. He was starting center on a team that knocked out #3 MVP candidate Paul George and he made a difference
2. He sucks defensively but without him we expected to get destroyed defensively
3. If we win this year it will be by scoring 125 ppg. Kanter will significantly increase our offensive possessions with his offensive rebound
4. If our perimeter defenders force up a bad shot, at least he will secure the rebound
5. When scraping the bottom of the barrel, you can do worse....but I wish Baynes has opted out so he could have resigned
6. He wants to be a Celtic so I will embrace him warts and all. Screw Kyrie.

In all honestly beating an OKC team with George on it not much of an accomplishment for Portland considering this....

"In 56 games prior to the All-Star break, George averaged 28.7 points on 45.3 percent shooting from the field and 40.6 percent from three-point range. He averaged 26.4 points on 33.6 percent shooting from the field and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc in 21 games after the All-Star break."

George really hurt his shoulders and his play probably declined as a result of it. He got operated on so it wasn't just a little bruise. In other words, after all-star break, George may not have even been playing at level of a 10 player due to injury. He did gut it out in playoffs like other players in the NBA did..

Celtics have never won a championship without a defense in the top 20-25% of the league. More than half of the Celtics championships, Celtics have actually had number 1 defense in the league.

From a very short term asset accumulation perspective, one can make the argument than Kanter is a player that may be good for spot minutes if the team changes a ton before the end of the year but if the team doesn't change a ton, he is just an example of a somewhat high usage treadmill center.

I think probably the best thing about this signing in all honesty, he may be a good player for Timelord to learn from and practice against.... By that I mean learn some more moves on offense...

If last years Warriors signed him instead of Cousins, I would think good signing since you may be able to strategically play him 10-15 MPG in some series. And good depth.

But it is scary given Celtics other players if he is anything beyond the teams 3rd best legit PF/C....

I think Ainge got him since he may think of him as a better fit with Timelord and he may think as long as Kanter gets some time on the court, he won't be much of a headache.

In all fairness, I believe Bulpett is Ainge's mouthpiece and Bulpett was indicating that the Celtics know they are not that close right now. Some major moves need to be made for Celtics to have a chance. Question is if they start making them this off-season or wait until later.

[Fencer reregistered]

One thing about Kanter -- he seems able to handle more minutes than the already much missed Baynes. E.g., his minutes in the seven games of a playoff series vs. Denver were: 33, 32, 56(!), 29, 26, 29, 40.

By way of contrast, Baynes exceeded 25 minutes only two times in the entirety of last season.

[Darren]

I am kinda surprise Boston signs Kanter. Does it mean Boston give in on Theis? Tacko Fall and Robert Williams is also on roster.

[return2glory]

Watch on YouTube

[Domenico]

Posted already?

Read on Twitter

Thanks. Good read. Makes me feel good about this signing.

[threrf23]

Posted already?

Read on Twitter

Thanks. Good read. Makes me feel good about this signing.

Kanter walked into camp with 2.8 percent body fat and 20 more pounds of muscle than he had a year ago. “He’s the healthiest eater of all time,” McDermott says. “I’ve tried multiple times this summer to go to Shake Shack, but he won’t do it. I remember on a plane ride once, I was like ‘Enes, if this plane goes down, what’s the first thing you’d do?’ He said ‘I would eat all the cheeseburgers and cookies on here,’ just because he eats more quinoa and kale and spinach than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

On the court, Kanter is aggravatingly schismatic. At his best—AKA when his team has the ball—he moves like a rhinoceros who could place in the Kentucky Derby. He consistently finishes around the rim at an elite rate and creates second, third, and fourth chances whenever a teammate’s shot (or his own) doesn’t fall. “He’s a walking assist for a lot of us guards,” Burke says. Kanter finished seventh in rebound chances per game last season, averaging at least five fewer minutes than everyone who ranked higher. Since he entered the league, only seven players have grabbed more than 1,400 offensive rebounds. Kanter has tallied at least 2,100 fewer minutes than all of them.

“My thing is to do the dirty work, bang inside, and just be a banger, you know?” he says. “I know my weaknesses. That’s the most important thing. You have to know your weaknesses. I think my [weakness is] defense, of course.” For the past five years, Kanter’s team has been atrocious on defense with him in the game and significantly better when he’s on the bench. Two postseasons ago—after a play in which Kanter was helpless to stop James Harden and Clint Capela from connecting on a lob—that reputation collided with the national spotlight when a camera panned to Thunder head coach Billy Donovan right as he turned to his assistant Maurice Cheeks to seemingly say the words: “Can’t play Kanter.”

“I did see the clip. I could read his mouth. But he said ‘I never said anything like that, I was saying something else’,” Kanter says about Donovan. “He told me he never said anything like that and I go with it. You know what I mean?”

Kanter will never be Rudy Gobert, but he’s spent the offseason building up his legs, training himself to stay in a lateral stance, watching more footage, and conceding that where he is and how he reacts is increasingly critical in a league that goes out of its way to attack him. Physical improvement can only accomplish so much without awareness, zippy instincts, and the capacity to communicate on the fly, though. And big men, like Kanter, who neither protect the rim nor shoot threes—something Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks first encouraged him to try when both were in Oklahoma City—are an endangered species.

The most popular example of Kanter’s loyalty—and quite possibly his most relevant on-court moment—happened one year ago, when the Cleveland Cavaliers visited Madison Square Garden. The conflict started hours before the actual game, when LeBron incidentally disrespected New York’s baby-faced French point guard Frank Ntilikina by saying Dennis Smith Jr. should’ve been the Knicks pick instead.

Late in the first quarter, LeBron dunked home a lob, bumped into Ntilikina, and then refused to get out of his way. It was pure intimidation. The rookie responded by shoving James back before Kanter sprinted over to join the fray. “I was like ‘I’m proud of Frank. He’s pushing with LeBron, that’s good!’ But then after that it’s like OK, LeBron is 260 going up against an 18-year-old kid,” Kanter says. “So then I break in and I actually didn’t say nothing crazy. I was like ‘Don’t mess with my man.’ That’s it.”