Going to try to distinguish some of the facts from the misconceptions about Kanter in an (albeit ultimately futile) attempt to put this never-ending debate to rest.
Fact: Kanter is a talented offensive player.
There is no disputing this. His #'s, all the way back to his rookie season, indicate that he can be a prolific scorer & rebounder.
Fact: Kanter's #'s have improved since the trade to OKC.
He clearly needed a change of scenery & it just so happened to end up being the perfect situation. Ibaka is the ideal fit next to Kanter in the frontcourt, due to his defensive ability/shooting range, Westbrook is the ideal playmaker to create easy looks for him, & OKC has enough outside shooting (even without Durant) to open the lane for Kanter to work in the post. Outside of rim protection, these are all things that we were unable to provide for him.
Fact: While Kanter may be putting up great #'s, he still has some serious limitations (which don't show up in OKC's box score, although they have certainly shown up in our's).
He will never be a good defensive player due to his physical limitations. This is something that is unlikely to ever change. The only thing you can do when he is on the floor is surround him with the type of players that can help hide his some of defensive deficiencies, which OKC is more able to do than we were.
Misconception: Kanter is a better player in OKC than he was in Utah.
Nothing about his game has changed, he is still the same player that he was here. The only thing that has changed is his level of feeling appreciated (even though using the 3rd overall pick in a draft one someone is a much greater sign of appreciation than trading the mid-level assets that OKC traded to acquire him), which in return has increased the level of effort he was/is willing to give night in & night out; thus causing him to appear as though he has improved.
Misconception: Kanter is selfish.
This is speculation on my part, but to me, he seems to be immature, self-conscious, & lacking confidence/self-esteem, which has caused him to handle himself on & off the court in a manner that has made him appear selfish. I don't think his refusal to ever pass out of a double team was due to him wanting to get his own numbers, so much as it was due to his desire to help the team win (which it didn't) in the only way he knew how (by scoring), & his extreme desire for the approval of his teammates & coaches. Due to his immaturities, he was (& still is) unable to view the perspective of the situation from that of the team's, than that of his own.
Fact: Utah received less value for Kanter than he was worth.
I wish this wasn't true, but it is. The multiple factors that created this situation are well known, so no need to go into detail on this one. I will say though, regardless of what happens with Kanter individually, or OKC & us collectively, we were right to not pay a 3rd big as much $ as he will receive, & to not take the risk of receiving no assets for a former #3 pick. Whether the situation could have been handled differently is a different conversation.
Fact: Utah is a better team after trading Kanter than they were before trading him.
This is all that actually matters, everything else is secondary. The transformation of our defense since the trade is amazing & shows you just how different a player's actual impact on a game can be from the #'s that show up in the box score.
