It has been over a year since Enes Kanter donned an OKC Thunder jersey. But that hasn’t lessened his admiration for Russell Westbrook.
Enes Kanter like many NBA players enjoys spending time in Los Angeles during the offseason. While in LA Kanter made some television appearances on Fox Sports 1’s Skip and Shannon: Undisputed and The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
Kanter discussed various topics, from LeBron James Joining the Lakers, Russell Westbrook, and Michael Beasley’s personalities, recruiting Kevin Durant to New York, and most importantly a no (DeMarcus) Cousins policy.
With that, let’s analyze Kanter’s best quotes from both interviews.
Why he Loves Russ
"Kanter: He (Russ) is the type of guy who makes himself better and his everyone around him better. While some people say no, to me yes. He made me so much better on the court, off the court. He was like a big brother for me."
This is not surprising to hear Kanter say this about Russ, many players gush over Westbrook’s high character. In Paul George’s third and final installment of his ESPN mini-documentary, he called Westbrook one of the best human beings he has ever been around.
According to Wikipedia 86 players have played for the OKC Thunder, therefore Westbrook has had 85 teammates. Less than a handful have complained about Russ while playing with him. That is a pretty good track record for a player heading into his 11th season.
https://twitter.com/Enes_Kanter/status/1013975803762266112
Oklahoma City will forever hold a place in Kanter’s heart
Skip Bayless pointed out the fact Kanter picked the Lakers to finish ahead of the Thunder. When Skip confronted Kanter, Enes backtracked stating he didn’t want to say one way or another where the two teams would place in the standings.
Because Oklahoma City holds a special place in his heart, Kanter closed the topic by exclaiming it’s a war every night in the West. Considering the moves made this summer the term wild, wild west could take on a new meaning during the upcoming NBA season.
More admiration and a look at Russell’s competitiveness
Colin Cowherd transitioned into the topic known as Russell Westbrook by exclaiming to Kanter he heard Enes loves Westbrook. Kanter said he does love Westbrook, Enes told Cowherd he knows he (Cowherd) hates Russ. Then Enes revealed he sent Russ a text the day this interview took place. Cowherd asked what the text said and Enes chose to keep the messages private.
Related Story: Cowherd Westbrook rants are more salt than fact
Later on in the interview, Kanter was asked if Russ ever frustrated him when he would jack up 3’s? Kanter provided a straightforward answer, never. Then Cowherd stated how Westbrook dribbles a lot, Kanter followed that statement up with this gem;
"Kanter: Let me tell you (Cowherd) a story. When sitting on the bench players come over to say what’s up. I was scared to look at them because if Russell catches me he will cuss and yell at me. For Russ it’s like a war every night there are no friends on the hardwood for Russ."
Kanter went on to say there was a player on the Warriors he said hi to, then Russ spun around and snapped at him. Russ began yelling and cussing at Kanter, leading to Enes begging for forgiveness on the spot. For the record, most believe the anonymous player is Durant, I believe the player was Zaza Pachulia.
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After Kanter’s story, Cowherd admitted it was a cool story, adding it makes him like Westbrook more. Kanter is so powerful he got one of Westbrook’s biggest critics to praise Russ. Cowherd has given Westbrook credit in the past, but those instances are few and far between.
Dropping Knowledge
Move over NBA insiders because Enes Kanter is coming for your jobs. Between his two interviews, Kanter provided some intriguing information, including but not limited to:
- Stating he intends on recruiting KD to the Knicks
- He is a fan of Colin Cowherd, (although considering Kanter’s fondness for throwing shade this is not surprising)
- Admitting he is jealous of the Warriors
- Kanter also revealed some NBA squads have a no Cousins policy.
The last tidbit is intriguing for multiple reasons. Firstly. given Cousins lack of offers, Kanter’s information must be true. Secondly, given what Kanter revealed it is more perplexing why the Warriors would take such a risk by adding Boogie Cousins.
The OKC Thunder are taking a risk themselves, adding Dennis Schroder, however, OKC is trying to catch the Warriors. Whereas the Warriors are back-to-back defending champions who did not need to bring in Boogie Cousins. Yet, if any team has an opportunity to add an all-star, they should take advantage of it.
An inside look at Westbrook’s personality
"Kanter: Well, to the media he (Russ) is very different, but on the court, off the court he is one of the best guy’s I’ve ever been around. He makes jokes, he laughs, he eats gummy bears and drinks Snapple on the plane. He’s a good dude, he plays 2 Chains, he’s a really chill dude."
It seems the word Kanter was looking for was humble, put simply Westbrook is a humble person. The misconception of Westbrook is real and will follow him for the rest of his career and that’s okay. Because so long as Enes Kanter is around NBA fans and the media will continue to hear the truth about Russ.