Turkish center Enes Kanter will suit up for Portland Trail Blazers once again. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Boston Celtics traded Kanter to Portland on Friday in a trade that also involved Memphis Grizzlies.
The trade will see Portland acquiring Kanter while sending Mario Hezonja to the Grizzlies. Memphis will also get TCU’s guard Desmond Bane, No.30 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, from Boston as part of the deal.
Celtics, on the other hand, is set to receive “future draft compensation” from Memphis.
It didn’t take long for Kanter to react on the deal, writing: “Home, sweet home.” on social media.
Enes Kanter originally joined the Trail Blazers in February 2019, after he was released by the New York Knicks. He ended up playing a significant role for Portland in 2018/19, stepping in for injured Jusuf Nurkic and helping the team to a Western Conference Finals appearance.
Kanter hit the free agency in the summer of 2019 and agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal with the Celtics. In 58 regular-season games in Boston, he averaged 8.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Mario Hezonja was Orlando Magic’s No.5 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft but never managed to live up to the expectations that were set for him. He will now try to rebuild his career with the young and talented Grizzlies and hopefully bounce back from a tough campaign in 2019/20 that saw him average just 4.3 points per game.
