Kanter: I’ll try to recruit ex-’mate Durant to N.Y.
When Warriors superstar Kevin Durant played against Oklahoma City for the first time early in the 2016-17 season, Enes Kanter, then the Thunder center, was the only one of Durant’s former teammates to give Durant grief — trash-talking him from the bench.
Now Kanter hopes Durant, a free agent after the coming season, will forget the incident.
The Knicks center said he will do everything he can to recruit Durant to New York next summer, although Kanter himself is also a free agent. Durant signed a twoyear deal with Golden State on July 1 with an opt-out after the first year.
“I’ve been hard on him the last two years,” Kanter said on SiriusXM Radio. “As soon as I learned he’s becoming a free agent, he’s my best friend. I can’t say enough of the guy. He’s the best scorer to ever play the game. Who wouldn’t want KD to wear a New York uniform?
“We are New York. He’s a free agent. We need to use that. We are the best city in the world. That could draw a lot of attention for free agents. I would love for him to be my teammate again. When he was my teammate [in OKC], he was an amazing teammate, amazing character, scorer and basketball player on court and off the court, too. I would love to see him be my teammate again.”
Kanter added he will “try to recruit him” after the season, though acknowledged his late-June overtures to LeBron James didn’t go over well.
Knicks legend Walt Frazier said last month Durant may have an asterisk next to his two Warriors titles because he had joined them after they were already champions. Kanter wouldn’t disagree with the claim, but said Durant now has a chance next summer “to build a brand all over again.”
“It is New York,” Kanter said. “If you are with New York, you’re king of America and king of the world.”
Now that Sept. 1 has arrived, the Knicks are soon expected to use the stretch provision on center Joakim Noah to open up a chunk more 2019 salary-cap space and allow for one more max contract.