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Enes Kanter still unsigned

I didn't know about the RJ quote so I looked it up
Richard Jefferson on talking with Enes Kanter, "He believes that offense is more important than defense. Yes, I'm telling that to the media. Those are his own words. Not saying that he says that they're equally important. He says that in the playoffs, you need good offensive players. And I was like, you will not find a championship team that doesn't know to get stops in the last five minutes of the game."
 
You are close but this is not the whole story. Kanter repeatedly was either benched or minutes significantly cut after great performances. It's also known Corbin spent zero effort to explain players why this happens. There were also several minor issues between Kanter the org such as affiliated media bashing him and his twitter account crack down after fairly innocent twits. Things like that add up.
And i conceded in the 2nd season he had a valid argument. But that's what happens when you are a backup. I think every player understands when you get big minutes because a starter is out or you are playing the entire 4th due to a blowout, your minutes aren't going to be the same the next game out. Will also concede Corbin was a poor communicator, just like Sloan. But he was given a starting role in Years 3 and 4. Media bashing him? You're damn right they bashed him! He was one of the worst defenders among bigs in the league. Kanter couldn't stand the heat, wouldn't work on his defense so he got out of the kitchen. I can understand that. It's like Pablo Sandoval in MLB. He hated the Giants putting a weight clause in his contract. So he left and is free to eat as many donuts as he wants in Boston.
 
And i conceded in the 2nd season he had a valid argument. But that's what happens when you are a backup. I think every player understands when you get big minutes because a starter is out or you are playing the entire 4th due to a blowout, your minutes aren't going to be the same the next game out. Will also concede Corbin was a poor communicator, just like Sloan. But he was given a starting role in Years 3 and 4. Media bashing him? You're damn right they bashed him! He was one of the worst defenders among bigs in the league. Kanter couldn't stand the heat, wouldn't work on his defense so he got out of the kitchen. I can understand that. It's like Pablo Sandoval in MLB. He hated the Giants putting a weight clause in his contract. So he left and is free to eat as many donuts as he wants in Boston.
He was undeservedly benched in his third year as well. Almost two full years of Corbin crap is sufficient to alienate a player. Don't forget that Hayward was happy to jump the ship as well. Those all are mistakes which led to eventually getting 20 cents on the dollar which was my initial point. Emergence of Gobert does not excuse management for the way they handled Kanter situation. If not for Gobert they would match max offer sheet and we likely ended up with a disgruntled maxed player who plays poor defense.

It's Jazz management fault that after 3 years of Kanter we were not sure if he is worth keeping or not and it took Snyder hiring to understand that Kanter doesn't fit the plan when it was too late to move him for what he is worth.
 
It's Jazz management fault that after 3 years of Kanter we were not sure if he is worth keeping or not and it took Snyder hiring to understand that Kanter doesn't fit the plan when it was too late to move him for what he is worth.
Umm, I think it was the emergence of Gobert that made jazz management realize Kanter was expendable. And that didn't happen when Gobert was a rookie. Lindsey has said several times Gobert developed much faster than anyone had anticipated. Had Gobert followed the normal developmental curve, Kanter would not have been disgruntled. Sure, he had some hard feelings about Corbin. But he would have been starting, playing 35 mins like Favors with Gobert coming off the bench for 13, just as Enes did when Big Al was the starter.

But Kanter saw the writing on the wall. When he got hurt, Gobert played major minutes and the whole nature of the team changed. Yes, it would have been nice to have a crystal ball at the trade deadline in 2014 so Kanter could have been dealt for more. But really, it wasn't until the World Cup when Gobert emerged. I guess the Jazz mistakenly hoped they could juggle the three to have an amazing rotation of bigs. That's what they're trying to do now in OKC. Adams goes from starter to sub. Will he be happy? Probably not. So they likely lose him once his rookie deal is up (or match an offer and blow through the cap).
 
Care to give an example of a player traded for late first rounder and scraps who gets max money same season?
Because obviously the Jazz can't be the first team to end up with an RFA who about to get max which they aren't prepared to match.
What did the Thunder get for James Harden?
 
At OKC, he is allowed to just hang around the basket, no other responsibilities.

This is F**kin stupid ..........and I guess they just put 19ppg/11 rebs behind your name after games ,I guess the opposing NBA centers just let him do that because their nice guys .......out of everyone here you sound the most bitter like your wife left you for another ___,even before Kanter wanted out most everyone thought Kanter was going to put up big pts and rebounds ...til Gobert emerged ...Gobert surprised everybody
 
id they teach him how to become one of the most worthless defenders ever in the modern NBA era,


NBA is full of bad defenders and most are like Kanter big scorers and rebounders and they get serious $$$$"s like Kanter does
 
This is F**kin stupid ..........and I guess they just put 19ppg/11 rebs behind your name after games ,I guess the opposing NBA centers just let him do that because their nice guys .......out of everyone here you sound the most bitter like your wife left you for another ___,even before Kanter wanted out most everyone thought Kanter was going to put up big pts and rebounds ...til Gobert emerged ...Gobert surprised everybody

Just stop.
 
Care to give an example of a player traded for late first rounder and scraps who gets max money same season?
Because obviously the Jazz can't be the first team to end up with an RFA who about to get max which they aren't prepared to match.
How about if I give you some examples of free agents who walked for nothing and got max contracts. If you look at it that way the Jazz made out like bandits... especially because they were clearly better off without this guy.
 
How about if I give you some examples of free agents who walked for nothing and got max contracts. If you look at it that way the Jazz made out like bandits... especially because they were clearly better off without this guy.
How about no?
RFA and UFA are kind two different things.
 
Maybe we didn't make out that bad on Kanter. We did get Pleiss out of the deal as well. Both teams could have viewed him as a pretty big trade chip.
 
I can't stop laughing at this comment about Kanter on the Thunder board at RealGM:

All OKC fans
R E L A X
He is 23 and he missed almost 2 seasons because of eligibility issues . He would have been a much better player by now if he had a chance to play against good competition between 2009-11. He is also a good rebounder (Last time I checked rebounding was an important part of defending) and he will improve the other aspects of his defense. He is young, smart and talented, he is also a hardworker . I think all the OKC fans will be pleasantly surprised when the season starts. I expect him to stay with Thunder and sign another max deal in 4 years.


He's smart and a hard worker....hahahahahahaha, priceless stuff.
 
Ah this debate is hilarious if not utterly tedious... Did Utah mismanage the young Kanter during his first seasons ? sure, in hindsight they could have done a lot better to build up his trust and ingrain early on in his mind the importance of defense. Did Utah make the right choice in trading a disgruntled young big man who was going to get paid anyway ? yes, with Gobert's explosion, Utah was never going to pay the money Kanter was going to command. Did Kanter make the right choice by asking to bolt out of UTah ? Yes, as classless as it might have been, from a purely rational point of view it was the right move, cue the big money in a big contender for him. Well done.

Now let's just hope we can have some great series against them in the future, where Gobert blocks Kanter countless times and our entire team scores repeatedly on him. outside of that, I'll watch how things go for him with benign indifference.
 
Ah this debate is hilarious if not utterly tedious... Did Utah mismanage the young Kanter during his first seasons ? sure, in hindsight they could have done a lot better to build up his trust and ingrain early on in his mind the importance of defense. Did Utah make the right choice in trading a disgruntled young big man who was going to get paid anyway ? yes, with Gobert's explosion, Utah was never going to pay the money Kanter was going to command. Did Kanter make the right choice by asking to bolt out of UTah ? Yes, as classless as it might have been, from a purely rational point of view it was the right move, cue the big money in a big contender for him. Well done.

Now let's just hope we can have some great series against them in the future, where Gobert blocks Kanter countless times and our entire team scores repeatedly on him. outside of that, I'll watch how things go for him with benign indifference.
Good post
 
Thoughts.....

-Love that Kanter received a max-contract. He won't be anywhere near worth it, but he got it from our biggest divisional rivals. Hope this somehow prohibits OKC from retaining KD long-term.

-Love that it was POR who forced them to match. Aside from maybe MIN ending up with him (as they appear to have the talent/potential to eventually become our main in-division competition depending on what happens to OKC/POR in the future), this was likely the best outcome (from UTA's perspective) that could have resulted from Kanter's RFA. To be honest, I almost wish that POR had gotten stuck paying Kanter as karma/revenge for Wes/Sap.

-While selecting Enes Kanter with the 3rd pick in the NBA Draft will always be viewed as a bust/failure, considering the circumstances, the end result could have been much worse for us. Not only were we able to avoid significantly overpaying a player who clearly didn't fit the system/culture of this franchise, we were able to coerce our rivals into doing so, while also obtaining additional assets from them in the process. There is no debating the fact that Utah received less value than typically expected in return for a recent #3 draft pick, but I believe that some are underestimating the affect that Kanter's looming RFA status had on his trade value.

-While expectations are always high when drafting 3rd, the fact that the selection (be it directly or indirectly) resulted in Utah ending up with a potential All-NBA Center (Gobert), a potential top 10 PG (Exum), & a SF with #2 scoring option potential (Hood), as well as (hopefully) a viable backup C (Pleiss) & a future non-lottery draft pick, while also leaving OKC stuck with what will likely eventually (if it isn't already) become an albatross of a contract (Kanter's max-contract), means that drafting Kanter 3rd overall wasn't a complete waste. It's impossible to say just how much of an impact Kanter had on the acquisition of Gobert/Exum/Hood, but there's no way of knowing what would have happened had we gone in a different direction during the draft. All things considered, we are currently in position to potentially compete for championships in the future &, most impressively, we got there without receiving much value/contribution from a top 3 draft pick. All in all, I'd consider the outcome a success.
 
I always wonder about stuff like this after a team offers a max contract to a player that almost certainly will be matched. I think maybe the agents are orchestrating things behind the scenes with wink wink deals. Like, help us with this and we will help you with a contract or player down the road. Wondered the same thing last year with Hayward. Why Charlotte would offer that deal knowing 100% that we were going to match.

It was Michael Jordan's last version of "the shot" at the Jazz.
 
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