The OKC Thunder have Enes Kanter looking at an offer sheet from the Portland Trail Blazers and now Oklahoma City has to decide whether or not to match the contract, with general manager Sam Presti saying the team "intends" to match and this comes as Kevin Durant is going to be a likely 2016 free agency target for the Washington Wizards, Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.
Kanter is a restricted free agent this summer and he has received an offer sheet from the Portland Trail Blazers for $70 million. According to David Aldridge at NBA.com, the Blazers have offered Kanter a four year max deal and it gives the Oklahoma City Thunder three days to match. The offer was extended already, so OKC is on the clock to decide on whether to keep Kanter or not. Aldridge reports that the Thunder could deal with a $26 million luxury tax bill if they match the offer.
UPDATE: per Yahoo Sports: "Oklahoma City has informed Portland it has matched $70M offer sheet for restricted free agent Enes Kanter, league sources tell Yahoo Sports."
Kanter was acquired in a trade last season by the Thunder and general manager Sam Presti reportedly is thinking about matching the offer. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Presti said that the team has an "intention" to "match offers" on Kanter and developments on the Thunder making a move could come very soon with the deadline coming up. The Thunder have Serge Ibaka as well as Nick Collison, Steven Adams and Mitch McGary up front, but Kanter is likely the best in that group with Ibaka.
Kanter needs to work on his defense, but he has a strong offensive game and while the Thunder are dealing with a tough choice, the $70 million will look better in a couple years. The salary cap is about to go up and with the money getting thrown around this year, it wouldn't be crazy to see the team keep Kanter. The Blazers lost LaMarcus Aldridge to the San Antonio Spurs in free agency and they also traded Nicolas Batum to the Charlotte Hornets, leaving an opening for Kanter there. The Blazers also signed Ed Davis and added Mason Plumlee in a trade.
The team may want to keep Kanter with Kevin Durant's free agency coming up, but that may not end up having an effect on things if Kanter ends up in Portland. The Thunder are obviously planning to try and keep Durant, but he is going to be the biggest free agent player on the market since LeBron James changed teams. According to Marc Stein at ESPN, teams like the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards think they are "legitimate contenders" to sign Durant next summer.
The Wizards are in position to go after Durant since Washington is his hometown team, while the Warriors also are considered in the mix. According to NBC Sports, the Warriors are expected to "go hard after Durant" next summer in free agency. The Boston Celtics also could be an option, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes that the team could have over $50 million in cap space to sign two max players. The team missed out on Greg Monroe and Kevin Love this summer and they could go big for players like Durant, Eric Gordon or Joakim Noah in 2016 free agency.
Check here for more on the offer for Kanter's deal, the Blazers offer, Sam Presti's quotes and more on the future for Durant and the Thunder in free agency.
