Big man Enes Kanter has decided to exercise his $18.6 million player option to stay with the New York Knicks. ESPN’s Ian Begley reported Thursday that Kanter was “heavily leaning” toward opting in:
Enes Kanter is leaning heavily toward opting in to his $18.6 million player option for 2018-19, per ESPN sources. Kanter will continue to survey the market until his Friday deadline but, barring an unforeseen significant change in the market, he will opt-in, per ESPN sources.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 28, 2018
On Friday, Shams Charania confirmed:
New York Knicks center Enes Kanter plans to exercise his $18.6M player option today to return to the team next season, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2018
Kanter quote-tweeted Charania’s report, saying that he hadn’t made up his mind yet:
God Damn shams ? I haven’t made any decisions yet https://t.co/8D2IoMLsbf
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) June 29, 2018
Three hours later, however, Kanter seemingly revealed his decision in an unexpectedly Trumpian manner:
#MakeKnicksGreatAgain ? pic.twitter.com/CrliNB4hb1
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) June 29, 2018
According to Begley, Kanter’s agent confirmed that Kanter has opted in:
Enes Kanter’s manager, Hank Fetic (@HadisFetic), confirms that Kanter has decided to exercise his $18.6 million option for next season and remain with the Knicks: https://t.co/liUFtyLjLZ
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 29, 2018
Kanter, the 26-year-old 7-footer, averaged 14.1 points in 25.8 minutes per game last season, to go along with career-best rebounding (11) and assist (1.5) averages. He also shot a career-high 59.2 percent from the field.
In January, Kanter said that he hopes to spend the rest of his career with the Knicks.
