Blazers’ New Hire Enes Kanter Reveals Damian Lillard’s Text Message After Joining Team

The Portland Trail Blazers’ off-season activity has gone under the radar. They have certainly added much more depth to the core of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic.

Their recent acquisition Enes Kanter recently said, “The day I got traded to Portland, Dame texted me, and he said, ‘Let’s go out there and win a championship.’ I was just super excited. I also saw CJ yesterday, and he was just very happy for me being here. But not only them, all the other guys as well. They were my ex-teammates, and they were so happy to see me come back.”

When asked about how he feels about Portland’s chances for the championship, Kanter said, “I feel like we’re capable of doing it. They had many injuries last year, but this year, if everyone stays healthy, it’s going to be a special year.”

Enes Kanter was a part of the Blazers in the 2018-19 season where they reached the Conference finals. He had one of his best seasons with the team averaging 13.1 points, 1.4 assists, and 8.6 rebounds.

Kanter later entered free agency and was signed by the Boston Celtics. He was not given enough minutes on the floor, given the presence of Daniel Theis. His numbers thus plummeted but were impressive for the time that he was on the floor.

Are Portland Trail Blazers championship contenders for next season?

The Trail Blazers had a pretty tough 2019-20 season. Multiple injuries plagued them, and they barely made it to the playoffs as the 8th seed in the Western Conference.

They had some positives from the campaign. Jusuf Nurkic looked much better after returning from a long layoff and was one of the stars in the bubble. Damian Lillard was at his usual best in delivering crunch time performances.

As the world approaches the new season, the Blazers have re-signed Hood and Carmelo Anthony. They have brought in Robert Covington in place of Trevor Ariza. They have also traded for Enes Kanter, who is a more than capable backup center.

Portland has been heavily reliant on Lillard and CJ McCollum. With all these additions, they have a deeper roster and players who take some pressure off the duo. But they aren’t the only team who have strengthened. The West has become more competitive and the top teams have become even stronger.

If all the players in the roster are fit, the Trail Blazers are surely a team that will make a deep playoff run; but a championship seems a stretch.