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Kanter wants no part in tanking: 'They can develop guys in the G League'

Abbie Parr / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The New York Knicks have lost nine straight games and now sit closer to the best odds of acquiring the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft than they do a playoff spot.

Enes Kanter, though, isn't interested in trying to improve his squad's chances in the lottery. Nor is he enthusiastic about his team supposedly shifting its focus toward developing its young players to contend in the future.

Despite the Knicks' precarious spot in the standings, Kanter is still more interested in winning right now.

"Let me tell you something, man: They can develop guys in the G League," Kanter told ESPN's Ian Begley. "This is not the time to develop young guys, or whatever, because we're trying to win games here.

"This team is paying us a lot of money, everybody, and all the fans are paying a lot money to watch the games and they're paying a lot of money for tickets, so they're not just coming here watching, 'Oh, this guy's getting better. This guy's developing.' No, we're trying to win games here, man."

Perhaps a little difficult to believe now, but at one point this season, New York was a team on the cusp of a playoff spot. That, however, quickly changed on Feb. 6 when superstar forward Kristaps Porzingis tore his ACL in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, the rest of the Knicks have gone just 1-14 without Porzingis.

With only 13 games left in New York's season, the Knicks sit 12 games back of the eighth seed, the Miami Heat, with three other teams - the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and Chicago Bulls - in between.

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