Enes Kanter knows he’s playing in the Leastern Conferen

Even Enes Kanter knows he’s playing in the Leastern Conference

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 23: Enes Kanter #00 of the New York Knicks plays defense against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 23, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Enes Kanter knows the Eastern Conference is weak sauce.

New York Knicks big man Enes Kanter’s team resides in the Eastern Conference, but having played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, he knows that it should be called the Leastern Conference.

In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN, Kanter touched on a variety of topics: his beef with Kevin Durant, his altercations with LeBron James, his fear of getting fined by Adam Silver, his reputation as a Twitter troll, his dedicated basketball summer camps, and his tenuous political situation in Turkey.

The most entertaining part of the transcript, though, comes when Kanter talks about how the NBA ruined the league. He argues that it was hypocritical when they denied the Chris Paul trade and then allowed the Golden State Warriors to be assembled.

“You look back in the day with what happened with Chris Paul, the league didn’t let him go to the Lakers,” he said to ESPN. “Now, I feel like they’ve kind of ruined the league a little bit because most people say, ‘Oh, Golden State is going to win anyway, so I’m not going to watch the games anymore.’ But the ratings are pretty good, though. Still, the fans are wondering what’s going on. East and West, look at the East. East is like AAU teams, and the West is like, the league.”

Comparing the teams in the Eastern Conference to AAU squads is a low blow, but it’s also a confusing one because of what team he is currently on. It will be fascinating to keep an eye on whether or not his teammates take exception to his opinion. Kanter recently faced off with new teammate Nerlens Noel in some one-on-one drills, and that will be a guy that Enes will have to fight for playing time.

Kanter averaged 25.8 minutes, 14.1 points and 11 rebounds per game last season, and he’s proven himself to be a durable player. Whether or not the Knicks will ever figure out how to keep him and Kristaps Porzingis on the floor at the same time remains to be seen, but they’ll have to start winning games and making the playoffs for that to be possible.

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The good news is that should be easy to make happen in what Kanter considers to be an AAU conference.

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