Kanter may not get last shot at King
ENES KANTER had circled the last two games of the season as his opportunity to finally face LeBron James again.
But with back spasms and a wrist injury keeping him sidelined, Kanter understands his season might be over. If that happens, one of the last interesting storylines of the season vanishes.
“I’ve been thinking about those two games (home against the Cavs on April 9, then in Cleveland on April 11) this whole season. But we’ll see how it feels,” Kanter said. “If it feels healthy I’m going to come back even before that, but if it feels hurt and just struggles it would not be smart to go out there with a hurt body, a banged up body.”
The last time the Knicks played the Cavs was way back on Nov. 13, when Frank Ntilikina shoved LeBron and Kanter rushed in to help his rookie teammate. Kanter then called LeBron “queen” and “princess,” and proceeded to mock the Cavs superstar on Twitter. LeBron also declared himself the King of New York on social media, with a picture of himself on the MSG court.
That was also back when basketball was relevant in New York. Now, the Knicks (27-51) are simply playing out the string with four games remaining — including Friday at home against the Heat — and a Cavs matchup is about as juicy as a steamrolled grape, especially if Kanter is out.
Kanter holds an $18.6 million player option and told the Daily News he officially hired NBA power agent Mark Bartelstein. Still, Kanter is expected to pick up the option because it’s a slim market for centers this summer, and he hinted he was going that route while professing his love for the Knicks front office.
“I think New York is just amazing, man. The fans are here, the people are here, and I think one thing when you see (GM) Scott (Perry) and (president) Steve Mills, they come to every practice and that shows how much they care about their players and this organization,” Kanter said. “That shows a lot to me. I think the most important thing for me is seeing those two guys sitting on the sideline, it’s going to definitely affect my decision this summer. I love those guys, I’m like family with them.”
Kanter, who was brought over in the Carmelo Anthony trade, might’ve had the best season of his career, with averages of 14.1 points and 11 boards while shooting 59 percent over 71 games.
He has missed the last two games with the back problems but isn’t ready to declare himself out for the season.
“It’s always like, when you are out there and sitting on the sideline watching your teammates, it’s always boring,” Kanter said. “Because if you’re not playing and just sitting down — this is your job, you love what you’re doing ... It doesn’t matter if we have one or two games left, 10 games left or whatever, you still want to go out there and fight with your teammates and battle with your teammates. It doesn’t matter four games, two games, one game, whatever, I’m still rehabbing really hard and we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
KNICKS vs. HEAT 7:30 on MSG