Enes Kanter Freedom: I was in Portland last year and I averaged a double-double and we went to the playoffs. I was a starter. And they come and tell me after a year that I forgot how to play basketball? When I started talking about what’s happening in China, they stopped showing the Celtics on Chinese TV. This cost the NBA money. The NBA says that the league stands by our side when it comes to freedom of speech. I don’t believe it. They stand on our side as long what we say helps the league’s pockets, otherwise they’ll do whatever they can to finish you. I’m saying that because they are trying to retire me at 29. However, I know that I can play 6-7 years more because I love basketball, I’m healthy and I believe that people can see that I deserve to be in the NBA.
Source: EuroHoops.net
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Enes Freedom: “The NBA says that they stand on our side regarding freedom of speech. I don’t believe it. They do it as long as what we say helps their pockets. Otherwise, they’ll do whatever they can to finish you.
“They’re trying to retire me at 29”
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/13… – 2:44 PM
Tom Westerholm @Tom_NBA
I see Enes continues to veer HARD in a certain direction lol – 6:09 PM
More on this storyline
Enes Kanter Freedom: My first goal is to play in the NBA and I want to be there. I grew up watching Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, and other teams and my brother was playing in Greece for Kolossos Rhodes last year and he was telling me how nice it is there. Before anything else, I’d like to meet Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. I’d like to shake his hand and thank him for accepting refugees from Turkey. It’s an important step of the friendship between Greece and Turkey. Then I’d like to talk to him regarding the possibility of coming to a team like Panathinaikos and building a friendship between the two countries. If I play on a Greek team it won’t be just for basketball. I want to build a bridge between these people. We are not far from each other: We eat the same food and our cultures are very similar. -via EuroHoops.net / April 15, 2022
The Celtics traded him in February to the Rockets — who immediately released him, leaving him looking for a new NBA team. “I averaged double-double last year and people know I can still go out there and play,” he said, citing his statistics. “I’m 29 and I plan to play another six or seven years in the league because my body feels healthy and I love basketball. “I do believe that yes, they are punishing me in a way, and making sure every other athlete sees what I am going through so they won’t talk about the issues that are happening in China.” -via ABS-CBN News / April 6, 2022
Stan Van Gundy: “In what has become a trend for him he wouldn’t offer specifics.” Support Enes Freedom or don’t. Admire him for standing up for his beliefs. But he wasn’t blackballed. He wasn’t good enough to crack Boston’s rotation and they traded him for someone better. -via Twitter @realStanVG / March 24, 2022