Knicks star Enes Kanter frustrated by reduced role

New York Knicks star Enes Kanter expressed frustration at his reduced role in Monday's 127-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, amid speculation the center is to be traded.

Knicks coach David Fizdale has demoted Kanter in favour of giving game time to second-year center Luke Kornet and rookie Mitchell Robinson.

It has been widely reported that the Knicks are planning to trade Kanter in order to free up salary cap space, with rumours of a lucrative move to bring Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant to the Big Apple continuing to surface.

And Kanter, who was on court for 19 minutes and contributed 11 points, voiced his frustration at his situation.

"I was very disappointed," he said in quotes reported by ESPN. "There was nothing to be happy about, so I'm not happy and I definitely don't agree with the decision, of course.

"I'm a player. We are competitors, so [we want to] play big minutes. If you look at the whole year, first 41 games, I did not miss a game. And they put me in fourth [in the] rotation [on Monday], it definitely hurts. It hurts a lot."

The loss to the Thunder marked the Knicks' sixth consecutive defeat after a win against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 4 ended another long losing streak.

Kanter, who is playing his second season in New York, has averaged 14.4 points and 11 rebounds this season.