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Enes Kanter signs with Trail Blazers, reportedly over Lakers

Cleveland Cavaliers v New York Knicks

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 13: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Enes Kanter #00 of the New York Knicks exchange words in the first half at Madison Square Garden on November 13, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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In 2015, the Trail Blazers signed Enes Kanter to a four-year, near-max offer sheet.

The Thunder matched, then later traded him to the Knicks, who recently waived him.

After all that, Portland is finally getting its man.

Kanter:

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

Jusuf Nurkic is having a strong year as the Trail Blazers’ starting center. I’m unconvinced Kanter is even an upgrade over backups Meyers Leonard and Zach Collins. But at least Kanter brings a different style. He’s more of an interior presence than those two.

The Lakers’ interest surprised me. When they opened a roster spot, it appeared earmarked for Carmelo Anthony. They really tried to sign Kanter – a noted LeBron James annoyer – instead of the friend LeBron said he wanted? Kanter makes far more basketball sense than Anthony in Los Angeles, but Kanter probably isn’t good enough to justify aggravating LeBron. So, did LeBron sign off on that? Or is the Lakers’ front office operating that independently of its superstar here?