Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles expected to be interested in Enes Kanter
By Nick Ziegler
Recent Lakers rumors are that they are expected to be interested in free agent center, Enes Kanter.
With the start of free agency just a few days away, there have been plenty of Lakers rumors about who the team will be going after. While we still don’t know exactly how much cap space the Lakers will have after the Anthony Davis trade, we do know that they should be big players in free agency.
Having LeBron James and Anthony Davis will make the Lakers a very desirable destination once again, and they should be able to get some veterans to come to Los Angeles on the cheap. Veterans have historically come to play with James and ring chase over the course of his career, and it should be no different this year.
Since the Lakers have the potential to clear enough cap for a max player, that will likely be the first route that they go. However, there are some other talented free agents that will be available if the Lakers miss on a star. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, one of the players that the Lakers will be interested in is Enes Kanter.
Free agent center Enes Kanter is expected to receive interest from the Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics on June 30, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 26, 2019
Last season was definitely a tough one for Kanter. On a tanking Knicks team, he was basically benched to help ensure that the team wouldn’t win any games. However, he was finally able to get bought out and sign with the Portland Trail Blazers in the second half of the season.
Kanter was expected to back up Jusuf Nurkic, but a late-season injury resulted in Kanter becoming the starter. On a Trail Blazers team that made the playoffs, Kanter really performed well.
During the playoffs, Kanter averaged 11.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game. Kanter dealt with a shoulder injury for part of the postseason, but he was able to battle through it to help his team as much as he could.
Next. 3 Reason to pursue D'Angelo Russell in free agency. dark
For the Lakers, Kanter would be an interesting fit. There seems to be a strong desire to add a center to possibly allow Davis to play some more at the power forward position. While Kanter is not a three-point shooter, he does a great game around the basket.
While we will likely have to wait and see with what happens with the star free agents first, Kanter will be a name to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.