3 players the Houston Rockets should want from the Celtics

3. Enes Kanter

Woj reported that the Houston Rockets are seeking to land a center, which is both intriguing and surprising. MDA doesn’t trust Isaiah Hartenstein, so the Rockets would need to add a center if they moved Capela, in theory. But D’Antoni likes to play small ball, which eliminates the need for a traditional center altogether.

Nonetheless, Enes Kanter has been a serviceable reserve for the Celtics, as he’s averaging 9.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest this season. That translates to 18.5 points and 15.9 rebounds per 36 minutes, which is a major indicator of what he can do.

Kanter has a player efficiency rating of 24.2, which is the second-best of his career and would rank second on the Houston Rockets this season. On top of that, Kanter has a true shooting percentage of 62.2 percent, which would be fourth-best on the Houston Rockets this season.

Kanter has familiarity with Russell Westbrook as well, as the two played together during Kanter’s three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kanter also played against Westbrook during the opening round of the 2019 playoffs and was the third-leading scorer for the Portland Trail Blazers during that season, as he averaged 13.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game during that series.

All in all, Kanter averaged 11.4 points and 9.7 rebounds during that postseason, which was a welcome sight for the Blazers, as they were dealt a major blow prior to the postseason when Jusuf Nurkic was injured and out for the rest of the year. This ended up being the best postseason for Kanter, as he posted career-highs across the board.

Kanter has been playing 18.5 minutes per game this season, which are his fewest minutes since the 2012-13 season, which was his second in the league, so it’s not farfetched for the Celtics to trade him. In fact, it would allow rookie Tacko Fall to get more playing time. Kanter is making 4.7 million this season and is under contract through the 2020-21 season.

Next: No. 2