Because he's not coming off a strong year I suppose.The only forwards or centers under contract available to begin next season should Kanter opt-out would be Lance Thomas and Joaquim Noah. If he opts-out as I expect I can't imagine the Knicks being happy at all as they would either have to eat up cap space for the summer of '19 to retain him or have to fill major frontcourt holes in FA anyway. Having Kanter play out his contract when the team is desperate for both offense and bigs, and really even forwards to play the 3 or 4, while preserving space for the summer of '19 would seem to be their optimal result. I just don't see how that makes any sense for Kanter though coming off such a strong year at age 25.
He hung numbers for a team intentionally trying to lose.
They shouldn't care one bit about having only Thomas and Noah being the only forwards left if Kanter opts out. They can fill their roster with other dudes to help them tank again. Gonna be another lean year again in NY next season. If they are looking to lock up Kanter longterm at big bucks, Dolan is even dumber than everyone already knows he is.