O-boards are valuable, rebounds are good, scoring at a 55% clip is good. Kant could post up more especially v. 2nd unit C's.
It's simple: Kant fills a void this year. This Summer we are unlikely to bring him back unless it's at a reduced rate and he's willing to accept a reduced role.
So we, and more to the point he, will wait to see what the market is for his services. It's all not an issue right now. Kant is basically our default starting C. Unless you think Kornet is going to start the rest of the year. Maybe carve out a genuine 2nd unit with a strong Kanter role so he can see how he'd be used next year. Craw cried about a bench role as a Knick and it went on to define his career.
Yeah, it'd be better if Kant sucked it up and didn't complain. Especially since almost every Knick but Tim has been in and out of the starting lineup, and most get a 2nd chance and have made the best of it. Which is why I very much expect Framc to get another starting run, expecially after KZ is back. This is a development/evaluation year.
Kant is a rather odd minor element to fixate on ....
I don't think anyone is giving Kanter more than the MLE. The catch is: He can a top-3 back-up pivot during the season (Valunciunas being the best) but he absolutely cannot be relied upon during the playoffs because opponents will PNR him to death. "Can't Play Kanter". If Valunciunas can't be played against some teams, as Toronto knows all too well, Kanter won't have better luck.
How much do you pay a guy who can help you win regular season games by destroying second units and providing spot starts but not be of much help in playoff games? If you're lottery-bound, the MLE makes sense - he's a walking double double, he'll go for 20 once or twice a week if given regularly 25mpg. If you have designs of making noise in the playoffs, then it depends if you have three other reliable bigs. If so, then the $6m Bo says is sensible. It might be less.
For the Knicks, it's a pretty simple decision. KP and Mitch should take all 48 minutes at the 5 spot in competitive games. Maybe there's five minutes at most left over some games for when the Knicks go with a twin towers lineup (which is what KP at the 4 represents in today's NBA - a gimmick, to be used infrequently). And if the Knicks keep Vonleh - which I hope they do - then there really isn't a single minute left for Kanter barring injury. And if the Knicks draft Zion...well, you get the picture.
So he's gone this summer. You can book it. I, for one, am going to enjoy watching his great hands and footwork and nose for the ball when he's on the court for the rest of the season, cringing along with the rest of you when he sets those soft picks which he bails on before contact is made (because he wants to roll to the basket), or when he doubles prematurely and then looks lost trying to find his man when he abandons the double, or when he shows up a second too late and with his hands by his side when a guard drives to the basket. Mostly I wish him well and I'll cheer on any enemy of Erdogan.
(ps If the Knicks trade Mitch as part of an unlikely deal for a superstar, then maybe Kanter comes back as the back-up 5. But only if Mitch is gone, because the team needs to built around KP)
Poll
