Enes Kanter Joined Trail Blazers to Avoid LeBron James, Lakers Drama

Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter said he opted not to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers because of the drama that tends to surround a team led by LeBron James.

On Thursday, Kanter noted during an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that the Blazers presented a more stable organization to enter in the middle of a season.

"I looked at the chemistry [the Lakers] have and I saw the, you know, all the drama that's going on," he said. "I was like, you know what, I just wanna be drama-free, finish the season drama-free. Go on a good team, good culture, good coaching staff, good players. Just want to enjoy basketball, finally."

Here's a look at the center's full conversation with Cowherd:

Kanter, who signed with Portland on Feb. 13 after being waived by the Knicks a week earlier, has averaged 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in six appearances off the bench for the Blazers.

Although the 26-year-old former Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder post player may have secured a larger role in L.A.—he's playing just 18.8 minutes per game so far in Portland—his choice has a much better chance to land him a postseason berth.

Kanter Puts Up 18 Pts in Blazers Debut

The Blazers currently sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 39-25 record, giving them a seven-game cushion over the ninth-place Sacramento Kings in the race to lock down a playoff spot.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have fallen 6.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers for the last berth in the West with just 17 games left in the regular season.

Kanter is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and Los Angeles will remain in the market for frontcourt assets during the summer as it retools the roster around James. It's possible the Lakers make another run at the 2011 first-round pick in the months ahead.

For now, he's avoided being a storyline during the Lakers' freefall toward their sixth straight playoff-less season.