Next in line on the free agency list for Boston is veteran center Enes Kanter, who reportedly announced that he inked a two-year $10 million dollar deal with the frontcourt needy Celtics.
The 27 year-old big man was in the midst of being buried in the depth chart of the Portland Trail Blazers, as earlier they acquired former Heat double-double machine Hassan Whiteside in exchange for two players. Portland is still awaiting last year’s starter Jusuf Nurkic, who broke his leg in the tail end of the season, a crushing blow to a team that persevered all the way into the Western Conference finals without him. Nurkic is making excellent progress with rehabbing, according to reports. Before the injury, he was barreling down 10.4 rebounds a game to go with 15 points.
The 6-foot 11 250-pound Swiss-born Turkish-descent center gives Boston an excellent rebounder in the post, as the Celtics lost veteran Al Horford to the Philadelphia 76ers on a major four-year contract north of $100 million. Boston is reportedly still in the hunt for another frontcourt mismatch to pair with their latest signee.
Kanter averaged approximately 14 points a game to go with almost 10 boards a contest last season in Portland. He began his career in Utah, then transitioned over to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then he revisited both teams for brief stints before signing with the Knicks in 2017. He started out this season with the Knicks before being shipped out to Portland and is now back on the East Coast.
