Enes Kanter has been one of the Knicks‘ better big men this season. He’s had key moments and has been a bright spot at times in the middle of a pretty miserable season. Individually, he’s been having a great season, averaging a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
However, has Kanter’s year been big enough for him to opt out of his contract and go for a big pay day? Rival executives think it’s a possibility. According to Ian Begley of ESPN, there is a belief that Kanter could pass on the final year of his contract to seek out a long-term deal.
Kanter, who announced last month that he was hiring Mark Bartelstein as his new agent, has an $18 million player option this summer. It seems likely that Kanter will exercise the option, but opposing executives have come away with the impression that he was leaning toward opting out, presumably to pursue a multi-year contract.
Kanter turning his great individual season into a multi-year deal would be fantastic for him. However, it’s very risky to leave $18 million on the table. Even with how well he’s played, nobody is going to offer him that much for a single season elsewhere. He’d have to be pretty confident he can make up for it with the extra years on a new contract.
Kanter is a solid big man. However, he’s less of a starting-caliber center in the NBA and more suitable for a backup role. Teams don’t give backup bigs $18 million. If Kanter wants to leave that behind and seek out long-term security, then that’s not the worst decision in the world. Teams just aren’t going to offer him that kind of money.
On the other hand, Kanter could see this season as his peak. The Knicks have too many centers as is and he might not get the chance next season to put up these kinds of numbers again. This could be his best chance to cash out on his work and get a new contract in a better situation.
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