Kanter expects to resolve travel situation

Enes Kanter’s social media presence is constant and entertaining enough that Danny Ainge doesn’t really want to know the depth of it.

“I won’t be following him on social media. I don’t have enough time in the day,” the Celtics president said yesterday.

Kanter, though, demands attention beyond his fun on social media. He remains an outspoken critic of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and is friends with exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government suspended his passport two years ago and also issued an arrest warrant, accusing Kanter of being part of a terrorist group.

As a result, Kanter has been unable to travel outside the United States due to the reluctance of foreign governments to offer protection to an undocumented traveler. A potential issue looms here, considering the Celtics play two regular season games in Toronto.

But Kanter said he plans to meet with U.S. Senator Ed Markey to find a solution.

“When I was in Portland, one of the conversations was if we made the NBA Finals if I could travel to Toronto or not,” Kanter said. “In Portland, U.S. Senator Mr. Ron Wyden sent a letter to the Canadian government and they said, ‘We don’t see an issue to come into our country.’ So I’m actually going to meet with Senator Markey next week and I’m going to talk to him about some of the issues. I don’t think it will be a problem, but we’ll see.”

Kanter remains resolute, however, in his criticism of Erdogan’s regime, even while his family continues to live in Turkey.

“I have not talked to them, but my brother is here in America and he talked to my family about the Boston Celtics and everything and they were very excited. Because, obviously it is a winning culture and great history and stuff,” he said. “They were very happy and excited about it. It was a very tough situation, but I think what I’m doing is definitely worth it because what I’m trying to do is try to be a voice of all of those innocent people who don’t have one. I’m trying to stand up for human rights, democracy and freedom.”

Big Brady fan

Kanter, who put on his uniform and briefly ran with a group of young Celtics campers yesterday, has some definite plans for how to savor his new city.

“I might actually go to the Red Sox game today. So we don’t have baseball in Turkey and my friend told me that people go to baseball games to just drink and eat hot dogs, it takes four hours,” he said. “So I might go. I don’t drink by the way. But I might go check it out just to see the fans and see what baseball is all about, because I don’t even know the rules. So I’m definitely excited about it.”

He’s also excited about meeting another member if the local sports fraternity.

“I’m actually a very big fan of Tom Brady. I actually want to meet him, but I wasn’t going to say it in a press conference,” he said. “But I’m like, ‘Should I do it or not?’ But I’m definitely a big fan of him and I would love to meet him. What he does on and off the court is amazing not just for football, for sports. So if he’s listening right now, I want to meet you, my man.”

Team effort

Kemba Walker, as it turned out, jumped right into the recruitment effort after reaching an agreement with the Celtics. His first call was to Kanter, on Ainge’s phone.

“Kemba was one of the biggest reasons I came here, and that shows the kind of leader that he is,” Kanter said. “He called me, I answered the phone, it was a deep voice and I was like, ‘Who’s this?’ He said, ‘It’s Kemba, man, and we want you to be here and we’re excited about you.’ That made me very excited and feel special. Having an AllStar guy, a superstar like Kemba call me and say, ‘Hey, we want you to be here.’ That’s special.” …

Though Walker’s old college coach is an enthusiastic advocate for the basketball experience in Boston, the new Celtics star said he didn’t need a pep talk from Jim Calhoun.

“He didn’t have to recruit me,” Walker said. “No, not at all. He stayed away from the recruiting process, I guess.”