New Knicks center Enes Kanter spent a lot of time in New York this summer, working out, losing weight and appearing on a couple of occasions with Russell Westbrook at Carmelo Anthony’s pickup games at his Manhattan gym.
According to Kanter’s manager, Hilmi Cinar, Kanter has used New York as his training base the past few offseasons. Though Anthony landed in Oklahoma City on Sunday night, the two never will become teammates.
Kanter, the 6-foot-11 Turkish big man, now is a Knick — the centerpiece of Saturday’s Anthony blockbuster — who will be introduced at Monday’s opening day of training camp.
“He’s not upset at all, but none of us expected this,” Cinar told The Post. “He enjoys New York, the food, the vibrancy, his friends come in and meet with here. It’s good culture.”
In a heartfelt thank you to OKC’s fans on social media, Kanter said Oklahoma “will always be in my heart” and “please beat the Warriors for me.”
Kanter, 25, is known to put up points inside in a hurry but struggles defensively to the point he didn’t see the floor much in the playoffs for OKC.
That snub spurred Kanter this summer. According to Cinar, Kanter has lost 33 pounds this offseason, dropping from 273 to 240, to improve movement on defense — an admitted weakness.
“He’ll be more athletic this year,’’ Cinar said.
According to sources, the Knicks like his toughness, physicality and ability to get to the free-throw line and score inside. He’s also European, giving the Knicks five on their roster. He’s got some feistiness — the only Thunder player to trash-talk Kevin Durant upon his first return to OKC.
Whether Kanter will start ahead of young center Willy Hernangomez is unclear. Kanter came off the bench, spelling center Steven Adams, in Oklahoma City.
“Kanter can definitely score — both in the low post and he has a decent mid-range face-up game,” an NBA scout told The Post. “He rebounds pretty well, too, particularly on the offensive glass. But he’s a poor defender. He isn’t a rim protector because he’s not a great athlete and has slow lateral movement. He doesn’t strike me as a guy who really wants to defend either. He wants to score and do the easy stuff.”
The Knicks management team of Steve Mills/Scott Perry has put an emphasis on defense. The weight loss could be a difference-maker for Kanter, and the risk isn’t large without a long-term contract. He can opt out after this season for a long-term deal, though his 2018-19 wage of $18.4 million is hefty.
In many ways, the Knicks brass viewed trading Anthony as addition by subtraction after missing the playoffs four straight years with him as leader. Former president Phil Jackson remade the roster entirely three times over, with Anthony the lone constant.
Although Kristaps Porzingis viewed Anthony as his mentor, Knicks brass worried about his influence on the 21-year-old and wondered if Anthony “was teaching Kristaps the right way to be a leader,’’ as one source put it. The Post reported Anthony reamed out Porzingis for praising the triangle offense to reporters last March.
Kanter, underachieving 6-8 sharpshooter Doug McDermott, also 25, and a 2018 second-rounder became the pawns as the Knicks look to grow their young core around Porzingis.
Charley Rosen, Jackson’s confidant who first championed an Anthony trade by writing he had “outlived his usefulness in New York’’ last January, told The Post the Knicks didn’t improve much in this deal.
“They improved a bad situation only minimally,’’ said Rosen, Jackson’s ex-assistant CBA coach. “But I was still pro trading Melo to get him out. Kanter is terrific moving around the hoop, is a relentless offensive rebounder but can’t pass, shoot from range or even play a semblance of defense. With Hernangomez, Kyle O’Quinn and KP playing some there, the only center who can defend without fouling is [Joakim] Noah.”
Kanter averaged 14.3 points last season in 21.3 minutes — ranked in the top five for reserves. The Knicks are excited about his per-minute production — rated the No. 1 post player in points in the paint per 36 minutes and top six in the league for free-throw attempts per 36 minutes for post players.
But in the playoffs, OKC coach Billy Donovan played him just 45 minutes in five games.
With the Knicks on a full rebuild this season, Kanter may not have to worry much about the playoffs.