NBA Rumors: Celtics Plug Frontline Hole With Coming Of Double-Double Machine

Enes Kanter found himself kept in the freezer for some parts of the 2018-19 NBA season when the New York Knicks went on tanking mode and gave younger players more playing time than the vets. He did eventually move to the Portland Trail Blazers but somehow his true potential as a veteran big man hardly held up. He gets a chance to start anew with his new team, the Boston Celtics.

According to the Associated Press, Kanter is headed back to the NBA Eastern Conference after agreeing to a two-year deal worth $10 million. The second year will be a player option for the Turkish big man -- meaning his upcoming stint will be critical in getting a bigger pact. On any given night, the 27-year-old has proven he can deliver a double-double performance in scoring and rebounding. He is expected to fill in the void of Al Horford who opted out and will be playing for the Philadelphia 76ers next NBA season.

But like any NBA player, Kanter has a couple of shortfalls. That includes his ability to shoot it from outside and his defense, NESN reported. Last season, Kanter managed to average 13.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Those numbers look well enough for head coach Brad Stevens to work with, although the Celtics would not mind getting more out of the third overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.

The Celtics beat out several teams for the services of Kanter, a big man who can easily fit in the role-playing needed to compliment any NBA team's resident stars. For Boston, he will be backing up the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, two of multiple young players on the Bean Town team. Aside from the Celtics, other teams who had reportedly had the Swiss-Turkish center on their radar included the Los Angeles Lakers and his last team, the Portland Trail Blazers. Much of this was covered in a previous post.

Known to be the big man who can do the little things in the NBA, he is just one piece of the Celtics' rebuild program following the departure of superstars like Horford and Kyrie Irving. The move will also reunite Kanter with Gordon Hayward. Both were teammates with the Utah Jazz from 2011-2015.