The Knicks missed out on all of the top free agents this offseason after clearing a ton of cap space to be able to afford two max players. And former Knick Enes Kanter thinks he knows why free agents are jilting them.
"Not many people know that, but players talk," Kanter said on the Full 48 Podcast with Howard Beck. "From different teams, they talk. I'm not blaming anybody -- I had an amazing time with the Knicks. But other teammates I talked to or if they're on different teams, they always said, 'Amazing city, MSG is amazing. Everything is so good, but the ownership.' They always keep saying, 'But the ownership.'"
On Tuesday, Kanter clarified his comments to make clear that he enjoyed his time playing under Dolan and didn't agree with the players who said that they'd shy away from the Knicks because of ownership.
"If you win in New York then you are the king of the world," Kanter told SNY. "Lots of players making excuses and saying ownership is not good but when I had almost two years with the Knicks I never had any problem with them. Had so much fun and (was) blessed."
Kanter added: "Trust me, James Dolan is a good dude. If the Knicks win a championship one day people will forget about the bad times. Winning cures all and the Knicks will always have one of the greatest arena in sports.... If people knew what (Dolan) was like, how much he loves the Knicks, they would have a lot more respect for him."
Since being released last season after his playing time dried up and joining the Blazers, Kanter had taken a handful of shots at the Knicks, so it should come as no surprise that he has also sounded off on why they swung and missed in free agency.
After the Knicks missed out on Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard, they turned their attention to the lower-tier players, signing roughly a half dozen of them to short-term deals that kept their financial flexibility open for the future.
Whether that future includes top free agents being willing to actually sign with the Knicks remains to be seen.