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Could Kanter and Gobert have worked?

olden_undercover said:
No doubt Kanter is putting up some great numbers right now, but there is little reason to believe it's sustainable. In fact, as CAKAR kindly pointed out waaaay back at the beginning of this thread, he got pouty and stopped playing hard for the Jazz because he was unhappy with his role here, which-- if true-- speaks volumes about his character. What happens when Durant and Ibaka are back, and Kanter is suddenly not getting as many touches? Because that's why he is doing so well right now. Will he have the professionalism and maturity to handle being the 4th or 5th option on offense? To me, this isn't even a conversation worth having right now-- come back to me after he's been with the team for a year or more, has a more established role in the system, and then there might be something to discuss. I will gladly eat crow if he's still averaging 20+ and 10+.

As for the idea that the Jazz would have been better off keeping Kanter over Favors, it's a moot point. The Jazz as an organization committed to building a franchise identity around defensive-mindedness, and Kanter simply doesn't fit into that model. It can't be argued-- for all of his prowess with his back to the basket and the ball in his hands, for all his talent as an offensive rebounder, he is not a defensive-minded player. As a fan I am grateful to the Jazz for choosing what most of us consider to be an exciting path, and then making hard decisions that show a commitment to it. What is annoying is how determined so many of you butt-hurt Kanter fans are to stick around this forum, resurrecting the topic of how great Kanter is and how badly he was mishandled. Go away, people. Just go away.
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Officer Olden bringing the long arm of the law to his posts. Respect.
 
Diamond77 said:
I agree with your point.

Corbin killed Kanter confidence several times benching him at every mistake. By the way most of the Jazzfanz posters were agree with the attitude Corbin showed to him. I guess they are the same posters that now support Snyder that is giving unlimited trust to Exum...

Anyway Kanter was the only young player that had to deserve his minutes in the last seasons.
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The way Corbin humiliated Kanter was ridiculous. I'm kind of surprised the Turkish mafia didn't put a contract out on Corbin.
 
mrob said:
But the bottom line is that there is no room for another player making max or close-to-max money in the backcourt.

Once the front office determined that Kanter was likely to command more than they were willing to pay him, the only smart move is to trade him for something.
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Can't agree with this, though. The cap is about to take a historical jump, and if Kanter had bought in and wanted to be here, Utah could have afforded to keep him. IMO, the FO was trying to ride it out and get him signed to a multi-year deal, at which point his trade value would have increased significantly to what we got for him. I think the main reason he got traded was because he was creating chemistry issues, and it had reached the point that those issues were bad enough that it wasn't worth souring the rest of the team. Between that and the fact that Enes taking the QO in the offseason was looking more and more likely, the odds of salvaging trade value just weren't in our favor.
 
freakazoid said:
Can't agree with this, though. The cap is about to take a historical jump, and if Kanter had bought in and wanted to be here, Utah could have afforded to keep him. IMO, the FO was trying to ride it out and get him signed to a multi-year deal, at which point his trade value would have increased significantly to what we got for him. I think the main reason he got traded was because he was creating chemistry issues, and it had reached the point that those issues were bad enough that it wasn't worth souring the rest of the team. Between that and the fact that Enes taking the QO in the offseason was looking more and more likely, the odds of salvaging trade value just weren't in our favor.
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Just because we could have technically signed him to a max deal due to the jump in the salary cap does not mean it is a wise fiscal decision. The salary cap jump is a short term phenomena. All salaries will increase for all players in short course and I stand by the fact that it would be very unwise to load up that many big salaries in the backcourt.

The chemistry issues definitely facilitated the trade happening when it did, but I believe that the impending salary that Kanter is likely to get in the offseason would have ultimately led to him leaving the team since they decided that Favors/Gobert was the better frontcourt going forward.
 
mrob said:
Just because we could have technically signed him to a max deal due to the jump in the salary cap does not mean it is a wise fiscal decision. The salary cap jump is a short term phenomena. All salaries will increase for all players in short course and I stand by the fact that it would be very unwise to load up that many big salaries in the backcourt.

The chemistry issues definitely facilitated the trade happening when it did, but I believe that the impending salary that Kanter is likely to get in the offseason would have ultimately led to him leaving the team since they decided that Favors/Gobert was the better frontcourt going forward.
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Have people learned nothing from when we maxed Kirilenko? There is always a risk in paying players a lot more than they are worth. It often costs you opportunities down the road.
 
Farmer.Tan said:
sure they could have...if Kanter had decided to not be a whiny little bitch.
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I disagree. Kanter was on his way out one way or the other. DL had seen enough of Favors/Gobert to know they were the frontcourt of the future. It would be foolhardy to spend that much on a bench player that would have been seeing an increasingly diminished role as Gobert progressed.

Not only would it have been stupid to spend that much on a bench player, Kanter would have wanted nothing to do with it. Why spend that kind of money on a player that is going to be disgruntled in that role.

Both sides win in my opinion.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the offers roll in for Kanter in the offseason. Will OKC match? His great play right now is heavily influenced by the fact that KD and Ibaka are out for the season. With KD, Westbrook, and Ibaka back, what role does Kanter have on that team? Are they still going to want him as a starter at that point? Does Kanter revert to being what he hated being with the Jazz?
 
I haven't followed Kanter much since his move but I saw a highlight last week of him running down the court and I swear it must have been a different person. He was actually leaning forward while he ran and looked like he actually gave a **** about getting to the other end.
 
ESPN Stats & Info ‏@ESPNStatsInfo 4 Std.Vor 4 Stunden
Enes Kanter (OKC): 25 pts, 16 reb (first career 25-15 game), inc. 15-10 in 1st quarter - 5th player since 1996-97 with a 15-10 quarter
 
But, we should not stay in the past. Kanter is good fit in OKC, we are a great team with Gobert/Favors, that´s AL what matters...
 
CAKAR said:
But, we should not stay in the past. Kanter is good fit in OKC, we are a great team with Gobert/Favors, that´s AL what matters...
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Kanter is a good fit in OKC for now. They are basically the Jazz with Deron Williams and Al Jefferson. Good but not great.

We won't know how good a fit he is long term until Ibaka and KD come back. Unfortunately OKC doesn't get to see that happen before they sign (or don't sign) Kanter to a contract at the end of the season.
 
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