The Jazz already locked up one of their young big men for the future, after agreeing to a four-year, $49 million contract extension with Derrick Favors.
Part of the reason for that was due to the way Favors performed last season when given the opportunity to play in the starting lineup. The opposite was true last season with Enes Kanter, who was brutal defensively -- which may be part of the reason that he and the team have agreed to forego a contract extension, and revisit things next summer when Kanter will be a restricted free agent.
From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:After ending discussions on the possibility of a contract extension with the Utah Jazz, center Enes Kanter plans to enter restricted free agency next summer, his agent told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday.
“We have mutually agreed with Utah to concentrate on the season and look at our options again in the summer,” agent Max Ergul said in a telephone interview. “Enes likes Utah and the organization very much, and now he can concentrate on continuing to grow as a player and helping them win.”
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders went about as deep as possible on the topic of Kanter and a potential extension, and after pointing out the issues with Kanter’s game along with the salary cap ramifications of extending him, he similarly concluded that an extension wouldn’t really make sense at this point for either side.
Kanter’s qualifying offer for next season is significant at more than $7 million, so there’s no rush to get something done. Add in the increasing cap number due to the league’s new broadcast rights deal, and waiting seems wise, especially in light of the team having a new head coach that could give Kanter another full season of development, which may include the addition of a three-point shot.
