Oklahoma City Thunder forward Enes Kanter immediately took the role of a classic WWE villian when he returned to play against the Utah Jazz last night. It was the first time he took the court to play against his former team since he was traded from Utah during February’s trade deadline.
Kanter had some words when he was with Utah, saying how he wanted to be traded among other things. Then he got his wish and was sent to the Thunder to play second fiddle to Russell Westbrook while Kevin Durant sits out with an injury.
Fast forward from that trade to last night when the Jazz hosted the Thunder. Kanter, of course, was the focus of the Utah media and boy, did he not hold back. He completely ripped the Jazz organization and let everyone know how he felt before the game tipped off.
Then it was game time and he got introduced. Cue to boos for the villain.
The Jazz got the last laugh though, they ended up pulling off a 94-89 victory against OKC. Enes Kanter had a great game, getting 18 points and 11 rebounds but it was in a loss. So leave it to a former teammate to notice the similarities that remain in Kanter’s game, while taking a shot at the big man in the process.
"He got his stats and he got the L as always" — Trevor Booker on post game interview on Jazz radio.
— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) March 29, 2015
Trevor Booker on Enes Kanter: He did what he always does. He got his stats. He didn't defend. He took an L (a loss)
— Tony Jones (@Tjonessltrib) March 29, 2015
Jazz forward Trevor Booker’s shot at Kanter wasn’t out of left field. The problem people have with Kanter has always been exactly that. He’s talented with the ball in his hands in the post, but his defense is questionable so you can’t exactly expect him to be reliable on all ends of the court. Without him, the Jazz have the best defensive rating in the NBA since the All-Star break. Kanter, on the other hand, has gotten his numbers averaging 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game for the Thunder, but the team has given up 108.4 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court, per NBA.com which is not exactly the best.
It appears that Booker isn’t the only one that had a problem with Kanter’s comments. Jazz guard Trey Burke said the team felt ‘disrespected’ and Utah’s ‘star’ Gordon Hayward seemed to agree with Burke’s comments. As you would expect from any classic WWE villian, Kanter didn’t care what they had to say.
Following courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune’s Aaron Falk.
“I think it definitely was a little personal for all of us,” Hayward said after the Jazz’s emotional 94-89 win over Kanter and OKC. “It is what it is. If he feels one way, that’s fine. I think it kind of hyped us up a little bit, gave us a little extra incentive. I think it pissed us off a little bit. I think it pissed the fans off, obviously, with the booing. They were tremendous tonight.”
And relentless.
From the moment Kanter was reintroduced to the EnergySolutions crowd — and every time he touched the ball after that — the sellout crowd of 19,911 let him hear it.
Kanter might have liked to hear more.
“I don’t really care,” he said. “I like pressure. That didn’t mean nothing to me. I really don’t care if they boo me. Every time I touched the ball they boo me. I like it better. I like the pressure.”
At the end of the day, the Jazz season will end in about 2 weeks, the Thunder will fight on for the playoffs but in the future, with the young nucleus of Utah, they might end up making Kanter regret what he said. This is brewing up to be something fun for next season and beyond, if Kanter elects to re-sign with OKC. Actually, any team Kanter goes too will feel this wrath from Utah because the players and fans problem isn’t with the team, it’s with Kanter and how his comments.
They players definitely won’t let him live it down.
The #Jazz were trolling Enes Kanter all night!
#thunder
https://t.co/KzuBzGWFZm
— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) March 29, 2015
