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Portland Trail Blazers: 3 players who likely won’t be back next season

By Ty Delbridge

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 04: Derrick Jones Jr. #55 of the Portland Trail Blazers eyes Enes Kanter #11 during an NBA game against the Sacramento Kings at the Moda Center on March 04, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Trail Blazers topped the Sacramento Kings 123-119. 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 Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 04: Derrick Jones Jr. #55 of the Portland Trail Blazers eyes Enes Kanter #11 during an NBA game against the Sacramento Kings at the Moda Center on March 04, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Trail Blazers topped the Sacramento Kings 123-119. 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 Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /

Portland Trail Blazers not likely to return No. 3: Enes Kanter

This past season was Enes Kanter’s second stint with the Blazers, and just like last time, he will probably walk in free agency without a contract offer from the team. Kanter was signed this summer to be the backup center but ended up started 35 games while Jusuf Nurkic was out an injury.

Kanter was good for the Blazers during the regular season. He averaged 11.2 points and 11 rebounds per game while grabbing 3.9 offensive rebounds per game, which ranked third in the NBA this year. But he was a non-factor for the team in the postseason, and that’s what will probably hurt his chances of returning.

Kanter averaged 24.2 minutes per game during the regular season, but in the playoffs, he put up 2.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game and did not play at all in the final matchup with Denver. He had a hard time defending Nikola Jokic and couldn’t affect the game at all on the offensive end.

Portland ended up going with the 6’8′ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who was signed halfway through the season to be the backup center in the season’s most important games. Jokic will win the MVP and is a tough guard for anyone in the league, but Kanter, at 6’10” and 250 lbs, couldn’t even make life hard on him at all.

The Blazers need to find a solid defensive center to play behind Nurkic, so they aren’t so reliant on him on that end. This team will have enough offensive firepower as long as Damian Lillard is around, so there is no need to go after an offensive-minded big man.

The only way I see Kanter coming back is if he is taking an end-of-the-bench role to only play in garbage time minutes and if others get hurt. But he is too talented to take a role like that at this point of his career, and some other teams around the league could probably use him.

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