PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers have signed free agent center Enes Kanter.
Kanter announced the signing on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
Terms of the deal were not immediately released.
Kanter was bought out of his contract with the New York Knicks on Feb. 7 after the NBA’s trade deadline. He had become frustrated with his reduced role on the Knicks and didn’t hold back from voicing his displeasure in the media.
According to multiple reports, the former No. 3 overall pick chose the Blazers over a handful of notable teams trying to sign him, including the Lakers, Rockets, Celtics and Nets.
"I look forward to helping the Blazers achieve the ultimate goal of competing for a championship," Kanter tweeted.
In 44 games with the New York Knicks this season, Kanter averaged 14 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25.6 minutes per game.
"The addition of Enes fortifies our front court for this critical late season push," said Neil Olshey, Blazers president of basketball operations. "He's an impact player with playoff experience that will be an excellent fit with our style of play."
Blazers coach Terry Stotts said the Turkish center will play a prominent reserve role for the Blazers, who’ve also added Rodney Hood to provide scoring off the bench. Portland's second unit will now consist of Evan Turner, Seth Curry, Jake Layman, Hood and Kanter.
"He's a bona fide player in this league, if you look at his body of work, he's a great rebounder, a great offensive rebounder. He can score and get rebounds in a short amount of time and I think that the role we have for him will really be good for him and really be good for us, as far as providing a different dimension off our bench," Stotts said.
The Blazers previously made a four-year, $70 million offer for Kanter in 2015 when he was a restricted free agent, but the Thunder matched it.