In November, LeBron James responded to some taunting from the Knicks’ Enes Kanter by referring to himself on social media as the “King of New York.” Now Kanter is challenging the Cavaliers star to prove that he does, indeed, reign over the Big Apple — by joining the Knicks in free agency.
“People keep debating about who is the King of New York. … Hey, LeBron, you really want to be king of New York? Come and prove it,” Kanter said during a Q&A session Monday on Twitter. “I’ll see you July 1, brother. Good luck.”
The mention of “July 1″ is a reference to the date when the NBA begins a new league year, at which point teams can negotiate with free agents and come to verbal agreements. James is widely expected to exercise his contract’s opt-out clause this summer, allowing him to hit free agency.
James is not, though, expected to seriously consider the Knicks as a possible destination. Not only is the long-mediocre team’s best player, Kristaps Porzingis, facing many more months of recovery from a February tear of a knee ligament, but James has been critical in the past of the Knicks’ management.
Then there’s the fact that the Knicks currently don’t have the salary-cap space this offseason to make James a competitive contract offer. Ironically, any effort to clear such space would likely depend on Kanter opting out of his own contract, one set to pay him $18.6 million next season.
Kanter has indicated that he may do just that, eschewing a lucrative salary in 2018-19 for a contract with more years at a lower annual figure. In the meantime, the Turkish player, known for his sense of humor and outspoken loyalty to his teammates, is taking a far different tone than he did in November, when he offered noteworthy comments before and after a Cavs win over the Knicks in New York.
At the time, James suggested that the Knicks had made a mistake by drafting rookie Frank Ntilikina instead of the Mavericks’ Dennis Smith Jr. Kanter said those words showed “disrespect,” and he got in James’s face during the subsequent game after the latter had bumped into Ntilikina.
Following that contest, a 104-101 Cleveland win in which James had a near triple-double while leading a fourth-quarter comeback, Kanter said, “I don’t care who you are. What do you call yourself, ‘King,’ ‘Queen,’ ‘Princess,’ whatever you are. We’re going to fight. Nobody out there is going to punk us.”
James replied, “Well, I’m the king, my wife is the queen and my daughter’s the princess, so we’ve got all three covered.” He then posted a photo to Instagram that showed him on the Knicks’ court at Madison Square Garden, with a caption, “You’re welcome,” accompanied by a symbol of a crown next to the phrase, “of NY.”
Kanter’s comments Monday followed a similar pitch expressed on a billboard that was placed near the Garden last month, just before another visit from James’s Cavs. With an image of a Knicks jersey bearing James’s number, 23, the sign said, “King of New York? Prove it. #KingJamesNYC18.”
“I heard about it. Same reaction I’ve had to every last one of them I’ve had this year,” James said then about the billboard, referring to signs previously intended to woo him to the 76ers and Lakers, as well as to his own Cavs. “I think it’s very humbling that cities and organizations want me to play for them at this point and juncture of my career. That’s it.”
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