The NBA's move to hold the free agency this year to June 30 had every team on their toes. In a way, it sent a frenzying effect on the entire league. NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski relayed that one of the agents told him that the free agency felt like a game of musical chairs where there were a lot of scenarios going on. Immediately, agents wanted to get a place for their players or teams wanting their players done as soon as possible before the market run dry. The agent added that most of the time the scenarios were like, hey you got like an hour or half an hour to decide, and we are going to the next guy.
The scene, as NBCSports describes, is a limited time sale offer and if you could not avail it, sorry but they are not spending extra time for you. And, this is kind of what happened to Enes Kanter, as he shared to Marc Spears of ESPN what happened to him during the most recent NBA free agency. Kanter claimed that he was only given six minutes to decide and that's the reason why he is not staying with Portland.
Enes Kanter had a strong playoff with Portland and helped the Trail Blazers vie for the Western Conference Finals despite a separated shoulder injury. Many fans are expecting Kanter to return to the team, but Kanter inked a 2-year $10 million deal with Boston Celtics. The Portland Trail Blazers, instead traded for Hassan Whiteside to fill in minutes until Jusuf Nurkic returns.
New Celtics center Enes Kanter via text to @TheUndefeated on why he didn’t return to Portland. pic.twitter.com/kznF6CUmbU — Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) July 1, 2019
Enes Kanter is known to like to tell stories, and while his tweet is making rounds on the Internet, Damian Lillard answered him on his Twitter account. According to Lillard, it was not six minutes but more like 45 minutes. A possible scenario is that the Trail Blazers gave Kanter a deadline because they had Miami Heat trade for Whiteside, but it was part of the bigger four-team Jimmy Butler sign and trade.
Sometimes there’s a chance you lose out on two ppl because you’re waiting on one. What I can confirm is that my boy was not given 6 mins lol... he was prob down to 6 mins from the original 45 https://t.co/vDn4cfxVHg — Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 1, 2019
But Damian Lillard admits that 45 minutes is still not a long time especially if you have to make a major decision that would impact your life for two years. Kanter would like to talk to his family first about his decision and also think it over. For Kanter's case, this will take time since his family is in Turkey, and that's the reason why he pushed the deadline.
Boston Celtics included Enes Kanter as an additional center for the team. The deal reportedly includes a player option on Kanter's second year. Now 27 years old, Enes Kanter is Turkish born in Switzerland. He played with the New York Knicks and the Portland Trail Blazers during the last NBA season. He could be an outstanding rebounder and regularly put up good stats.
