Enes Kanter, unhappy with his playing time over the past few weeks, is to be released by the Knicks as the NBA trade deadline came to an end on Thursday.
And the Boston Celtics are expected to be interested in signing him when he's made available, according to ESPN's Ian Begley.
Kanter, in the final year of a four-year, $70 million deal, has not played in six of the Knicks' last eight games due to head coach David Fizdale's shifting priorities.
Even as Madison Square Garden fans chanted his name in hopes to see him on the court, the 26-year-old Kanter has not played in either of the Knicks' last two games since DeAndre Jordan, 30, and Wesley Matthews, 32, were cleared to play following last Thursday's blockbuster Kristaps Porzingis trade.
"I'm 26 and the guy [that] just came is older than me," Kanter said of his frustrations over lack of playing time. "I don't know man. I think it's a little disrespectful. Only reason I'm not playing is they think I'm old. Now they bring in more old guys. I just feel a little disrespected."
Kanter has averaged 14 points and 10.5 rebounds in 44 games this season, his second with New York after he was included in the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder in September 2017.