We are at the point in NBA free agency where most of the guys still available are not game-changing players, but there are still one or two guys out there that can be—and one of them is Enes Kanter. A lot of the talk since the whole DeAndre Jordan saga has been about where the Mavericks go from here since most of the other free agent centers have already agreed with other teams. Kanter's name has been brought up in relation to the Mavericks in rumors recently, but it is being reported that they are not expected to go after him, at least not right now, according to Marc Stein.
Stein also reported that the Mavericks now plan to take a step back and move patiently. Mark Cuban posted that he told Wesley Matthews that he could be let out of his commitment because of what happened with Jordan, but Matthews decided he wanted to stay with Dallas anyway.
The Mavericks now have very limited options at center after letting Tyson Chandler go to the Phoenix Suns, and it would be very difficult for them to sign Kanter anyway as he is a restricted free agent and the Oklahoma City Thunder can match any offer sheet he signs. The Thunder made Kanter the qualifying offer a little less than two weeks ago, according to CBSSports.com.
Kanter is only 23 and it would be very surprising if the Thunder didn't match any offer he received, as he really came into his own last season. Kanter was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Thunder before the trade deadline last season and, in 26 games with the Thunder, he averaged 18.7 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Kanter is already a very good NBA big man but his potential is virtually limitless, and while it would be nice for Mavericks fans to get him as a plan B after Jordan backed out, it is more of a pipe dream than reality as the Thunder would be crazy to let him walk away.
