Enes Kanter finds a home with Knicks

NEW YORK - When Carmelo Anthony landed in Oklahoma City the day after his trade from the Knicks a contingent of fans greeted him at the airport, cheering his arrival. Maybe it was just the jaded nature of New York, but Enes Kanter's arrival came instead with a collective, “Why?”

The Knicks already had three centers on the roster and a budding star whose best possession might project there, too, in Kristaps Porzingis. But when he took a seat on the stage on media day he smiled widely.

“When I heard about the news first I was doing a basketball camp for orphans in Oklahoma City,” he said that day. "And my friend brought me my phone and he said hey, this is urgent. And I said, I’m doing a camp. And he said, it’s urgent. I put the phone in my ear and my manager said you just got traded. I said, OK. I said, where? He said to the Knicks. He said don’t look too happy because he knows I love New York, he said don’t look too happy. And after I went home and packed my stuff, I woke up in the middle of the night and punched myself. I said is this a dream? Is this really happening?”

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And a little more than a month later it hasn’t changed. He was greeted with a warm ovation on opening night back in Oklahoma City. He smiled through the three losses to start the season and smiled a little brighter as the Knicks have won three straight games. He has been a reassuringly pleasant presence on twitter - right to Halloween when he started by posting a picture of himself unwrapping chocolate and slipping brussel sprouts into the foil with the message, “Trick or treat kids. Stay healthy.”

He then posted a few hours later a message of hope to his newly adopted hometown in the wake of the terrorist attack in Manhattan,.

He is politically aware, risking death threats in his home country of Turkey because of his vocal opposition to the leader, Recep Erdoğan, but it wasn’t just a political platform that he saw in New York. It was a chance to blend into a big city.

“If you look at my career, Kentucky, I didn’t get a chance to play for Kentucky but Kentucky, Utah, Oklahoma City, I always played for the small cities and I was wondering what it would be like to play in a bigger city like New York,” he said on media day. “So I always just keep thinking that. I was with all these guys playing pickup this summer, all these New York guys and they were just friendly, really nice and warm people and I’m really excited to be here, seriously. And also there’s a big Turkish community here. Well of course, a lot of Turkish restaurants. I’ll take you guys out to eat one day.”

With the brussels sprouts episode the dinners may be on hold, but otherwise Kanter has fit in well in New York and most important, on the court. In the Knicks crowded front court he won the starting job out of camp and has developed a chemistry with Porzingis. His interior game fits with Porzingis, who prefers to operate on the perimeter.

He spent much of Monday’s postgame talking about Porzingis, comparing him to the stars he played with in Oklahoma City and speculating that the Knicks’ 22-year-old star should be in conversation for MVP candidates.

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But his play has been as advertised. With the Thunder he had settled into a sixth man role, but as a starter for the Knicks he has averaged a double-double with 14.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in each of the first six game, converting 61 percent from the floor, and even in the Knicks worst game of the season in Boston, he grabbed 19 rebounds.

“I’m feeling more comfortable,” Kanter said. “Obviously, this is my first season with the Knicks and obviously things are just starting to get better. And obviously i’m starting to feel comfortable out there, especially with the first unit. Me and K.P., I’m just getting more used to playing with him, so it’s getting better and better.”

On the web

Watch a video of Enes Kanter talking about his role on the Knicks. Visit njersy.co/kanterny

Email: popper@northjersey.com