If he gets a big offer, his trade value diminishes, it doesn't go up. The only way his trade value increases after we re-sign him is if his salary is low enough(or he massively improves his play). Who would let go off big assets for one of the worst bigs in the league according to most advanced metrics ever conceived on a huge contract? The chance that we will simply get stuck with a horrible contract is too big, I think. If on the other hand we sign him for a good deal(then his trade value would increase), there is no reason to trade him, since he will be a good punch off the bench for us for affordable price.
For me the best solution is to trade him now before the deadline if we think he's going to get a big deal. If we think he's not going to command less than 10M , then by all means keep him.
I'm not going to disagree with anything said here, but will expound on a few things.
1.) Enes is capable of huge offensive production in terms of scoring and rebounds. Playing with Rudy will only help him to improve this production.
2.) Nobody can account for how the TV deal will impact contracts. It's unprecedented. Everything is speculation, but if last year is any indication, Kanter will likely get a pretty sizable contract.
3.) Utah is still Utah. Players of this caliber don't usually come available to the Jazz. You hold on to them as long as you can. If the Jazz are happy with his development, and they don't have any free agents they want to pursue, the prudent thing will be to keep Kanter and sort out the rotation.
4.) If the Jazz don't trade him at the deadline, then they need to be prepared to match a MAX contract. It's the Hayward situation, not the Millsap/Jefferson situation. You don't let potential franchise caliber bigs walk on a RFA offer sheet. If they're not willing to match anything, they should strongly consider selling as high as possible and trade him now.
5.) I like that the Jazz are rehabbing his trade value. Over the course of the season, he could potentially become one of the most coveted assets available. They don't have to trade him, but if an opportunity to land an All -Star caliber player comes along, you package Kanter into that deal if you need to. . . although. . . if the Jazz can turn their draft picks into an asset, the ability to match his contract is very valuable.
6.) I think Kanter's ceiling is a poor man's Kevin Love. Strong offensive scorer and rebounder, but a negative on defense. With a long-term rotation of Gobert, Kanter and Favors. . . I could easily see Kanter continue to improve to a 20-10 level player and actually have him be more valuable on his 2nd contract like Love was. Especially if the market isn't a MAX level deal. I'm almost certain that he'll end up with a 4 year - near max deal with a player option on the last season. I can live with that, although I'd prefer to see them aggressively pursue another wing to pair with Hayward.
