Enes Kanter has been unhappy with his situation at points this season, complaining in late October while coming off the bench. While he's back in the starting lineup and averaging roughly five more minutes per game than his career average, it would still make sense for the Knicks to explore a potential trade.
Here are three that could work...
Enes Kanter for Miles Plumlee, Justin Anderson
This is one of the two major Kanter-centric deal structures we'd likely see from the Knicks, using his expiring $18 million contract to take on longer-term salary and a young piece or pick as a sweetener. The Hawks have a dearth of talented centers, and although they may not be major players in free agency, the extra $12 million saved by dumping Plumlee could come in handy for trying to outbid the market on talent. For the Knicks, Anderson is an intriguing wing/stretch four prospect worth gambling on despite his nomadic NBA journey thus far. If head coach David Fizdale could resurrect Emmanual Mudiay's career, why not Anderson's? The added cap hit would hurt, but not enough to take New York out of the, say, Kevin Durant sweepstakes with some further maneuvering.
Enes Kanter for Bismack Biyombo and a 2nd round pick
If the Knicks just want to get their quick return on Kanter, something like this would be the move. Biyombo has a similarly large salary and is signed through 2020, but New York could stretch his contract and collect the pick in hopes of landing another Mitchell Robinson or Allonzo Trier. Charlotte could be interested in clearing up cap room with Kemba Walker hitting the free agency pool this summer, and in theory would part with a draft pick to do so.
Enes Kanter, Frank Ntilikina for Hassan Whiteside
Whiteside is no Wall, but he is an interesting fit with Porzingis and could be enough to bring big names to July's pitch meetings. The two would form a terrifying defensive force in the frontcourt, while leaving the primary interior defense and rebounding duties to Whiteside over the lankier Porzingis. Whiteside can also step out to the mid-range and is a dangerous roll threat, which Porzingis can work with as a spread big. The Heat have been hovering at the middling level for some time now, and could look to shake things up. They're tied down to a number of big contracts, and shaking loose from Whiteside's while getting Ntilikina could be the move Pat Riley is looking for.