Tag: Enes Freedom

Enes Freedom attacks LeBron James, calls him the dictator of the NBA

Former NBA big man Enes Freedom had some very harsh words for Lakers superstar LeBron James.

LeBron James is one of the greatest players in basketball history, but he has also become polarizing over the last several years. While he continues to have his legion of fans who almost worship him, he also has lots of critics who harangue him, often in a hyperbolic fashion, for a number of things.

Former NBA big man Enes Freedom has been one of James’ harshest critics over the last few years. In the fall of 2019, he blasted the Los Angeles Lakers superstar for comments that were made about protestors in Hong Kong, and the other day, he was at it again.

He called James “the dictator of the NBA” while claiming that if someone goes “against his agenda,” that player will be traded. He also claimed that no one wants to play on the same team as James — other than his son Bronny.

Via Lakers Daily:

“He (the younger James) might be a good dude, but he’s not good enough to play in the NBA,” Freedom said. “The reason he got drafted is because of LeBron. The reason J.J. Redick is the coach is because of LeBron.”

The former big man also claimed the elder James always finds a scapegoat when a season isn’t successful.

“No other player wants to go play with LeBron,” Freedom said. “You had so many other free agents. … No one wanted to go play with him, because they know that it’s all about LeBron. They’re gonna get zero clout. … When the Lakers’ season fails, LeBron tries to find a player to blame, and he blamed the whole season on Russell Westbrook, so he is not a good teammate. Obviously, he runs the media, and he tries to control this narrative, but when you actually know and have a conversation inside of the NBA and its players, nobody wants to play with him.

“… When I see a dictator, I know it – LeBron is literally like the dictator of the NBA. He controls the media. He controls his narrative. If you go against his agenda, you get traded. Everybody knows it.”

There is certainly a feeling around the NBA that the younger James is a member of the Lakers only because of his father’s influence, whether it is true or not. He has struggled during summer league play so far, going just 7-of-31 from the field and 0-of-15 from 3-point range in four games.

The Lakers literally haven’t signed or traded for a single outside player so far this summer, other than the younger James and first-round draft pick Dalton Knecht. It has led to general manager Rob Pelinka being criticized yet again for what people see as roster mismanagement.

Bruno Fernando thriving for Rockets with new contract, new energy

Bruno Fernando on landing a standard NBA contract with the Rockets: “I am excited about what is being built around here, and I felt like this would be the right spot for me.”

Toward the end of the 2021-22 NBA season, Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas decided to rest some of his veterans so he could genuinely evaluate some of the talent he had on his team.

We all know what guards Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. did to finish the season. Another player showed the coaching staff and general manager Rafael Stone that he could potentially be a piece of the rebuilding puzzle.

Third-year reserve center Bruno Fernando was ready when his name was called, especially when given a significant amount of playing time. Last season with the Rockets, Fernando averaged 15 points and 9.3 rebounds when he played 15 minutes or more.

By showcasing some of the skills that made him an early second-round selection by Atlanta in the 2019 NBA draft, he gave the Rockets an idea of how valuable he could be heading into the 2022-23 NBA season.

“I am a firm believer in taking full advantage of the opportunity,” Fernando said late last season after scoring a career-high 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

Fernando, a 24-year-old, 6-foot-10 big man, came to Houston via a February 2022 trade with the Boston Celtics that included Dennis Schroeder and Enes Freedom in exchange for Daniel Theis.

With an expiring contract, he knew it was imperative to showcase the skills and energy he could bring off the bench, especially with the Rockets investing their future in young center prospects such as Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba. He did just that, doing whatever the team needed.

The Rockets showed the feelings were mutual by signing Fernando to a deal worth up to four years and $10.9 million after converting his previous Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal three days ago.

“To be honest with you, I wanted to be a part of this,” Fernando said after the Rockets’ first preseason game versus San Antonio. “I showed it from the time that I came here that I truly wanted to be a part of this. I am excited about what is being built around here, and I felt like this would be the right spot for me. So, I just continued to put in a lot of work and hoped that it would get me somewhere, and it did.”

In Sunday’s win over the Spurs, Fernando had 8 points and 3 rebounds off the bench, and the Rockets were a whopping plus-18 in his 11 minutes played. Fernando made all three of his shots from the field.

Looking back, Houston may have a former player to thank for how Fernando has integrated himself into the team’s developing culture.

Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela, who spent his first six seasons patrolling the paint for Houston, offered some encouraging words to Fernando during the recently completed offseason.

“I learned from Clint that every time you go into a situation, look around and see what is missing, and then ask yourself if you can add that and bring that to the table,” Fernando said in the locker room.

In postgame comments, Rockets coach Stephen Silas elaborated on the intangibles that Fernando brings to the table.

“He is a rim threat when it comes to the roll, offensive rebounding, and he protects the rim,” Silas said. “He is a game changer for us because we have Al-P (Sengun) who is so skilled, but not quite as athletic, and Bruno can come in and be athletic by really rolling hard to the rim … and that opens it up for everybody.”

Houston will be back in action on Friday, when it hosts the Toronto Raptors at Toyota Center.

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Enes Kanter Freedom: ’50 NBA owners are making profit off of slave labor’

Basketball star Enes Kanter Freedom pleaded for a fellow player to join him in taking a stand against the NBA’s connections to communist China Friday on “The Ingraham Angle.” Enes Kanter Freedom: Human rights violations happen all around the world. …

Basketball star Enes Kanter Freedom pleaded for a fellow player to join him in taking a stand against the NBA’s connections to communist China Friday on “The Ingraham Angle.” Enes Kanter Freedom: Human rights violations happen all around the world. We have to call them out like it is. And… for the NBA, moral[ity] matter[s] until money or business are involved. So that is the one thing that was breaking my heart. And all these owners — there are 50 NBA owners — are making profit off of slave labor. 

Source: Fox News Staff @ FOXnews.com

More on this storyline

On Sunday, Enes Freedom went further, claiming on Twitter that the Celtics, too, asked him not to don his human rights footwear. Not so, says Brad Stevens, who told the Herald on Tuesday that the Celtics’ only initial question involved whether the sneakers violated the NBA’s uniform policy, which it quickly determined they did not. But the Celtics president stressed that he has never stepped in the way of a player expressing his political beliefs. -via Boston Herald / March 9, 2022
“Here’s exactly what happened,” said Stevens. “I was actually at home, and when he decided to wear the sneakers, there was some concern – and I didn’t even know until the end of the first quarter – that there was a potential uniform or dress code violation. I don’t know what was said – I can’t imagine that phrasing was said – but the question to me was what to do about Enes’ shoes. I said I think that he’s fine, and let me double check with the NBA to see if there’s any uniform violation. Double-checked, fine, and he wore those the rest of the game and he wore whatever he wanted the rest of the year. It’s interesting, because I feel really good that we truly sat here and supported him and his right to express himself and his freedom of speech, and I even told him the next day that you know I’ve always done that.” -via Boston Herald / March 8, 2022

Enes Kanter Freedom: ’50 NBA owners are making profit off of slave labor’

Basketball star Enes Kanter Freedom pleaded for a fellow player to join him in taking a stand against the NBA’s connections to communist China Friday on “The Ingraham Angle.” Enes Kanter Freedom: Human rights violations happen all around the world. We have to call them out like it is. And… for the NBA, moral[ity] matter[s] until money or business are involved. So that is the one thing that was breaking my heart. And all these owners — there are 50 NBA owners — are making profit off of slave labor. 

Enes Kanter Freedom calls out NBA over Ukraine flag pins initiative

Enes Kanter Freedom believes his open criticism of the NBA is the reason he is no longer on a roster, but he clearly is not going to let that silence him. Freedom blasted the NBA and the Boston Celtics on Twitter Sunday for picking and choosing …

Enes Kanter Freedom believes his open criticism of the NBA is the reason he is no longer on a roster, but he clearly is not going to let that silence him. Freedom blasted the NBA and the Boston Celtics on Twitter Sunday for picking and choosing which human rights movements to support. The 29-year-old called his former team “hypocrites” for wearing Ukraine pins. Freedom said he also supports Ukraine but noted that the Celtics “begged” him to not wear anti-China sneakers a few months ago. “Who chooses whose lives are more important?” Freedom wrote. “Is there not much profit from Russia?”

Source: Larry Brown Sports

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Enes FREEDOM: Hypocrites! I see @Celtics coaching staff wearing Ukrainian flag pins, which I support What about Syria,Afghanistan,Uyghurs, Hong Kong,Tibet,Taiwan Why is it okay to speak up about human rights violations there but not in other countries? Is there not much profit from Russia? -via Twitter @EnesFreedom / March 7, 2022
Enes FREEDOM: How is it fair when I wore shoes to bring awareness about Human Rights violations around the world, @Celtics begged me to remove them and threatened to ban me, #Celtics now wear Ukrainian flag pins. Who approved this @NBPA / @NBA ? Who chooses whose lives are more important? -via Twitter @EnesFreedom / March 7, 2022

Enes Kanter Freedom nominated for 2022 Nobel Peace Prize

NBA player Enes Freedom (previously Kanter) has been nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. “I’m honored and humbled to receive the nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize,” Freedom wrote on Twitter. “Sometimes taking a stand is more important than …

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Enes Kanter Freedom has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/13… – 3:01 PM
Kerry Eggers @kerryeggers
With all the fuss about @Enes Kanter Freedom and the NBA’s alleged blackball because of his comments on China, would the @Portland Trail Blazers pass on signing the waived veteran center who played so well for them in two stints?
#ripcity – 5:53 PM
Tom Westerholm @Tom_NBA
(PSA: the people who say Enes is being blackballed and is one of the best centers in the world are trying to get you to angrily QT them) – 5:50 PM
Sean Highkin @highkin
Enes Kanter is the biggest loser of the Blazers’ front-office changes earlier this season because the GM who signed him three (3) different times is no longer employed. – 5:06 PM
Adam Spolane @AdamSpolane
By waiving Enes Freedom the Rockets have an open roster spot to convert one of their 2-way guys, which is what they did with Garrison Mathews, who was signed to a 4-year deal in December – 5:25 PM
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
Rockets as expected houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-n… waive center Enes Freedom. (Deleted a tweet that included his previous last name.) – 5:04 PM
Adam Wexler @AdamJWexler
#Rockets announce that they have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:02 PM
Cayleigh Griffin @cayleighgriffin
The Rockets announced that they have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Now that the Boston-Houston trade is complete, the Rockets have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM
Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The Rockets say they have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM
Alykhan Bijani @Rockets_Insider
The #Rockets have waived center Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM

More on this storyline

A senior official with the National Basketball Players Association, Kanter’s own union, kept calling and asking him not to wear anti-China shoes. “I talked about Turkey 10 years, not one phone call,” Kanter told me. “I talked about China one day, I’m getting phone calls every hour.” He told the union rep not to call again. When Kanter reached Adam Silver, they spoke for half an hour. Silver told him that he was free to say whatever he wanted with his shoes; nonetheless, at the end of the conversation, according to Kanter, Silver remarked, “Everyone knows it’s business.” Kanter took this to mean: You’re free to talk about China, but you, your team, and the NBA might face consequences. -via The Atlantic / February 16, 2022
Friends around the league advised him to enjoy the season because it was going to be his last. Freedom claims that he hasn’t been shunned by teammates, that he gets quiet support. Once, he told me, as he was getting ready to shoot a free throw, a Lakers player murmured: “Listen, man, what you’re doing is so brave, keep speaking up—but I can’t talk about it. These teams got us.” -via The Atlantic / February 16, 2022

New Rockets guard Dennis Schröder excited to help develop young backcourt

Dennis Schröder on his trade from Boston to Houston: “I am happy to be here now, but I was surprised. Now I want to lead the way with the young guys and get as many wins as we can.”

As the Houston Rockets prepare to take on the Utah Jazz on Monday at Vivint Smart Arena, they will get a chance to see two players that may impact their season heading into the All-Star break and beyond.

Newly acquired guard Dennis Schröder and center Bruno Fernando participated in an early morning shootaround with the team in Salt Lake City as they try to get acclimated with their new teammates and get a feel for the offensive and defensive sets utilized by the Rockets.

“He will get minutes off the bench and get incorporated into what we do,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said when asked about playing time for Schröder versus the Jazz. “It is a chance for him to try and get to learn his teammates and will give us a chance to get to learn him.”

Schröder, 28, has been a very reliable and stable point guard over the last nine seasons in the NBA. Seven of those seasons were spent playing in the postseason. Before being traded from the Boston Celtics along with Fernando, and Enes Freedom (who was waived by the Rockets), he averaged 14.4 points and 4.2 assists per game.

“I was surprised,” Schröder said when he found out he was being traded to Houston. “I talked to the front office and found out it was last minute. I am happy to be here now, but I was surprised a little bit. Now I want to lead the way with the young guys and get as many wins as we can.”

The acquisition of a point guard that can stabilize a sometimes-erratic offense due to the lack of experience of a young Rockets team is precisely what Silas and general manager Rafael Stone saw when they decided to trade for Schröder. His veteran leadership will help the young core of guards in Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, and Josh Christopher.

“I see they are working, and I am just here to lead the way a little bit and show them what is important and help them win games,” Schröder said following Monday morning’s shoot-around.

Houston begins a three-game road trip in Utah before playing back-to-back games against the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers to conclude the pre-All-Star portion of their 2021-22 season.

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Rockets have decision to make this week with open roster spot

Once Enes Freedom is formally waived, the Rockets can make a signing via his former roster spot. Bringing back Armoni Brooks seems to be one option, but there are other possibilities.

Shortly after Thursday’s trade agreement with Boston involving Daniel Theis and Dennis Schroder, the Houston Rockets made it clear that veteran big man Enes Freedom (formerly Kanter) would not be sticking around. His inclusion was simply for salary matching reasons and to ease the financial burden on the Celtics from their 2021-22 team payroll.

Yet, as of early Monday, Freedom had yet to be formally waived by Houston, per the NBA’s official transaction wire. There’s a reason for that: The trade, while announced, had yet to be finalized until late Sunday, owing to the process of completing physicals and paperwork.

In conjunction with the original announcement, the Rockets released DJ  Augustin and Armoni Brooks, since they were taking in three players in the deal (Schroder, Freedom, and Bruno Fernando) while sending out only one (Theis). Yet, they are only planning to keep two of those three from Boston. While Houston obviously never planned to keep Freedom, they could not formally “waive” him until his trade was fully complete.

As of Monday, that changes, and general manager Rafael Stone has a standard roster spot to hand out. One option, per The Athletic’s Kelly Iko, is simply bringing back Brooks. In two seasons with the Rockets, the 23-year-old guard averaged 7.8 points (33.5% on 3-pointers) and 2.0 rebounds in 19.8 minutes, and he already cleared waivers.

But there are other options, as well. In addition to scouring the G League, it should be noted that the Rockets (15-40) currently have the NBA’s third-worst record, which puts them in a lofty spot in the waivers order to potentially claim a player, as well — should someone they like have been waived by another team as part of a trade deadline move.

Another possibility is converting rookie guard Daishen Nix, who has excelled in the G League, from his current two-way contract to a multi-year deal (only allowed for players on standard roster spots, not two-ways). But even if that is Stone’s plan, the Rockets would still have a probable signing to make to fill what is currently Nix’s two-way slot.

The exact timetable is not yet clear, but with the Freedom transaction finally reaching the end stage, the wheels are now in motion.

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