Oklahoma City Thunder Have No Reason To Budge In Enes Kanter Contract Standoff

The Oklahoma City Thunder's last order of business in free agency is securing a new deal for Enes Kanter. However, with the restricted free-agent center drawing very little outside interest, the club shouldn't feel compelled to move off of any price that isn't its own. 

RealGM's Shams Charania reported on July 1 that Kanter and the Thunder met in Chicago to discuss multiyear offers worth at or close to max level. According to CBA guru Larry Coon, a max deal for a player with less than six seasons of NBA service, such as Kanter, would start at $16.4 million annually. 

Eight days later, the two sides have yet to agree to a new contract. Vincent Goodwill of Comcast SportsNet Chicago, citing sources, reports the team offered Kanter a deal starting at $15.5 million a year and will match any offer.

Update at 5:25 PM ET on Wednesday, July 8: Kanter has signed a four-year, $70 million offer sheet with the Portland Trail Blazers, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.  

After the Thunder acquired him in a three-team trade in February, Kanter emerged as the de facto second scoring option on a battered Oklahoma City team. OKC averaged 109.6 points per 100 possessions with Kanter on the court, the highest of any player on the roster, per NBA.com. Still, the club's reported offer is more than generous, especially given Kanter's defensive deficiencies. 

Kanter's case for max money is also hurt by a lack of alternative suitors. The negotiating period is over and free agency is officially underway, but the 23-year-old still hasn't received an offer from another team.

The New York Knicks were believed to be interested, per Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, but no deal ever materialized. While there's still plenty of time for that to change, the Thunder's alleged willingness to match offers is likely to make even the most desperate team reluctant to break out the checkbook. 

Also, when a team signs a restricted free agent to an offer sheet, it ties up a part of its cap space, which limits its ability to make other moves. That's another factor working against Kanter building his market value up.

With no market for his services and OKC having all of the leverage, Kanter appears to be at the team's mercy, and general manager Sam Presti shouldn't budge from his stance until someone gives him a reason to make a tough decision.

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

The good news for Kanter is he's the best free-agent center still available. The bad news is that after the draft, the initial free-agent whirlwind and some trade chips being cashed in at the negotiating table, other clubs have addressed their most glaring needs. The chart below shows the notable pivot men who have signed or found new homes this summer.  

Name	Team	How Acquired
LaMarcus Aldridge	SAS	Signed: four years, $80 million
Omer Asik	NOP	Signed: four years, $60 million
Tyson Chandler	PHX	Signed: four-years, $52 million
Marc Gasol	MEM	Signed: five-years, $110 million
Roy Hibbert	LAL	Traded: future second-round pick
DeAndre Jordan	LAC	Signed: four years, $87.6 million
David Lee	BOS	Traded: Gerald Wallace
Brook Lopez	BKN	Signed: three-years, $60 million
Robin Lopez	NYK	Signed: four-years, $54 million
Kevin Love	CLE	Signed: five years, $108.9 million
Paul Millsap	ATL	Signed: three years, $59 million
Greg Monroe	MIL	Signed: Three years, $50 million
Tiago Splitter	ATL	Traded: second-round pick and Georgio Printezis

Making matters worse for Kanter, this year's NBA draft saw seven big men go in the first 12 picks: Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jahlil Okafor (Philadelphia 76ers), Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks), Willie Cauley-Stein (Sacramento Kings), Frank Kaminsky (Charlotte Hornets), Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers) and Trey Lyles (Utah Jazz).

Still, the Blazers are the first team to make a real offer to Kanter and/or test the Thunder's resolve. While it seems crazy for a club as talented as OKC to pay a defensively challenged center an average of $17.5 million a year, Grantland's Zach Lowe expects Portland's offer to be matched. 

Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman expects OKC to match, as well, based on these comments from Presti.

However, another potential ace up the Thunder's sleeve is having Steven Adams as a backup plan if Kanter somehow bolts. While Adams isn't the polished offensive force that Kanter is, he's superior defensively and made enough strides in his second season to be an adequate option down low. 

Adams, who will turn just 22 years old later this month, made 67 starts as a sophomore and set career highs in points (7.7 per game), rebounds (7.5), blocked shots (1.2) and field-goal percentage (54.4 percent). The big Kiwi also allowed 104 points per 100 possessions, which tied with defensive stalwart Serge Ibaka for third best on the team. 

Additionally, Adams is under contract for just $2.8 million next season with a team option worth a mere $3.1 million for 2016-17. That kind of cheap emerging talent will come in handy as the Thunder continue to flirt with the luxury tax. 

Furthermore, the advanced numbers show the Thunder had a better net rating with Kanter off the court than when he was on it, per NBA.com. 

On/Off	Off. Rating	Def. Rating	Net Rating
On Court	109.6	110.4	-0.4
Off Court	106.2	103.3	+2.9

Inevitably, the smart money is on Kanter staying in OKC. Even with the cap rising next season, the risk of injury makes it a tough gamble to go the Greg Monroe route and sign the $7.4 million qualifying offer in hopes of being an unrestricted free agent in 2016.

There's also no guarantee Kanter will maintain the same role going forward with the Thunder as he had last season. With everyone back healthy, Kanter's placement in the pecking order is bound to trend downward. While the club could use his presence in the paint to draw defenders off the perimeter, it's hard to justify paying max money to a potential fourth option. 

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

The Oklahoma City Thunder made a smart play at the trade deadline when they acquired Enes Kanter. He instantly became a double-double machine in their starting rotation. Now, with the team holding all of the cards in contract negotiations, that move is looking more like a stroke of genius. 

While the Portland Trail Blazers are attempting to force the Thunder's hand by signing Kanter to a huge offer sheet, don't expect general manager Sam Presti to panic. At the end of the day, they made a fair proposal to a talented-but-flawed big man and didn't let their need for his skill-set dictate the asking price. 

Now, the club must decide whether to stay true to its word and match any offer or go back to the drawing board.